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GLEN     G.     MOSHER 


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LIBRARY.,  . 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PRESENTED  BY 

Glen    G.    Mosher 


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REPORT 


MADE    TO    THE 


Boston  Society  of  Architects 


BY    ITS    COMMITTEE    ON 


MUNICIPAL     IMPROVEMENT 


This  pamphlet  is  printed  at  the  joint  expense  of 

THE  BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  ARCHITECTS.        THE  METROPOLITAN  IMPROVEMENT  LEAGUE. 
THE  BOSTON  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE.        THE  BOSTON  STOCK  EXCHANGE. 
THE  BOSTON  REAL  ESTATE  EXCHANGE.         THE  BOSTON  MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION. 
THE  BOSTON  BOARD  OF  FIRE  UNDERWRITERS. 

THE  MASTER  BUILDERS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  BOSTON. 


"THE  suggestions  offered  herein  are  not  endorsed,  approved,  or  urged  by  the  Boston 
Society  of  Architects  or  by  any  of  the  other  associations  who  have  joined  in  the 
expense  of  publishing  this  pamphlet.  It  is  printed  as  an  interesting  study  of  subjects  of 
public  concern  and  in  the  hope  that  it  may  lead  to  fuller  investigation  by  competent 
authorities  into  the  subject  of  the  municipal  development  of  Boston. 


Alfred  Mudge  &  Son  Inc.  Printers 
24  Franklin  Street,  Boston 

1907 


Table  of  Contents. 


General  Report  .............. 

A  Diagnosis  of  the  Case  ............ 

Inner  and  Outer  Boulevards  .......... 

Development  of  the  Fenway  ........... 

Development  of  the  Charles  River  Basin     ......... 

A  Suggestion  for  the   Improvement  of  Arlington   Street     ...... 

A  Suggestion  for    the   Extension    of   Arlington    Street    and    for  a  Public    Building 
Site  at  Castle  Square        ............ 

Site  of  the  Old  Station  of  the  Boston  &  Providence   Railroad  Company 

Improvement  of  Copley  Square      ....... 

The  Widening  and  Extension  of  Commercial  Street 

Better  Connection   Between  Cambridge  and  Causeway  Streets 

The   Proposed  Old  Colony  Avenue         ...... 

Improvement  of  Dorchester  Heights     ...... 

Communication  by  Inland   Waterways  ..... 

The  Improvement  of  the  Port  of  Boston      ..... 


Page 

I 

7 
8 


15 

15 
16 
18 
18 
19 
19 
19 
20 

23 


REPORT. 


To  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects  : 

You  have  asked  us  as  a  committee  to  collect  and  study  any  plans  that  we  can  find  for 
making  Boston  now,  and  as  it  grows  larger,  more  convenient  for  its  inhabitants,  better  adapted  for 
commerce,  and  more  beautiful  in  appearance.  We  have  held  many  meetings  and  collected  from 
many  sources  suggestions  for  varied  improvements.  We  have  progressed  to  a  point  where  we 
are  convinced  that  this  work  is  important,  and  we  are  sure  that  it  could  be  to  advantage 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  body  appointed  by  public  authority  and  clothed  with  more  power  and 
influence  than  is  possessed  by  a  committee  of  our  or  of  any  society. 

Nature  blessed  Boston  with  a  beautiful  site.  Our  forefathers  handed  on  to  us  an  old- 
fashioned  Knglish  city  that  was  prosperous  and  convenient  and  of  great  beauty.  Is  it  a  better 
city  in  01  r  hands,  and  are  we  preparing  properly  for  its  future  ?  Old  Boston  is  full  of  local 
charm  that  we  all  want  to  preserve,  but  how  is  it  with  the  New  Boston  ?  These  are  the  questions 
we  have  had  to  consider. 

It  is  easy  to  point  out  fatal  errors  that  have  been  committed  when,  in  recent  years,  large 
municipal  works  were  in  progress.  They  arose  because  of  the  lack  of  such  forethought  as  we 
are  now  urging.  When  a  court  house  was  built  on  Beacon  Hill,  and  a  city  hall  was  proposed 
between  it  and  the  State  House,  an  opportunity  was  lost  that  has  rarely  been  presented  to  any 
city.  If  Beacon  Hill  had  thus  been  crowned  by  these  three  important  public  buildings,  the  city 
would  have  been  dominated  by  a  worthy  Acropolis.  The  Common  would  have  formed  a  park-like 
approach  to  them,  and  we  should  have  had  a  dignified  municipal  centre.  Again,  we  have  lately 
built  great  railway  stations  at  the  north  and  south  ends  of  the  city.  The  stranger  emerging  from 
these,  instead  of  being  greeted  by  grand  or  stately  effects,  in  one  case  is  puzzled  to  find  his  way 
beneath  the  intricacies  of  an  elevated  railway,  and  in  the  other  finds  himself  in  an  ill-arranged  and 
unsightly  quarter.  We  surround  Copley  Square  with  costly  buildings,  and  as  we  cannot  agree 
how  to  treat  the  square  itself,  we  leave  it  unarranged  and  half  finished.  Commonwealth  Avenue, 
which  is  a  fine  street  for  any  city,  is  lost  in  a  gravel  waste  at  the  "  Cross  Roads."  Our  parks 
are  defaced  by  a  fringe  of  cheap  tenements,  when  we  might  have  preserved  them  by  restrictions 
on  the  lands  that  border  them.  They  and  our  streets  are  defaced  by  advertising  signs,  although 
by  taxing  these  we  might  control  them  or  at  least  make  them  add  to  our  revenue.  Our  harbor 
islands  were  once  wooded,  but  now  are  bare.  The  waters  of  our  harbor  are  defiled  with  sewage, 
and  the  fresh  sea  air  is  made  noxious  by  the  rendering  plants  on  its  islands.  A  girdle  of  danger- 
ous and  inflammable  wooden  tenements  surrounds  the  city.  Our  streets  resound  with  a  deafening 
noise,  and  over  the  whole  town  hangs  an  unnecessary  cloud  of  soft  coal  smoke. 

Nobody  will  say  that  these  statements  are  exaggerated  or  deny  that  in  such  matters  we 
stop  short  of  the  better  Boston  we  all  long  for  and  short  of  getting  full  value  for  our  large  expen- 
diture.    We  can  justly  be  proud  of  our  parks,  our  library,  our  hospitals.     A  fine  bridge  across 


2  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

the  Charles  is  nearly  completed,  and  the  Charles  River  Basin  is  about  to  be  beautified  ;  but 
obviously  we  have  at  times  made  grave  mistakes,  and  it  is  clear  that  it  is  wise  to  look  to  the 
future  and  thus  guard  against  errors  and  provide  for  possible  improvements. 

Nor  need  we  think  that  in  studying  these  subjects  we  are  pioneers.  On  the  contrary,  we 
lag  behind  many  foreign  and  American  cities.  European  cities  rival  one  another  in  providing 
the  latest  and  most  modern  facilities  to  attract  commerce.  Here  in  America  we  have  been  living 
on  our  surplus.  We  have  not  hitherto  economized  and  made  the  most  of  our  advantages.  Euro- 
pean seaports,  on  the  other  hand,  like  Bremen,  Hamburg,  Copenhagen  and  Antwerp,  find  that 
their  prosperity  and  almost  their  existence  depend  on  keeping  abreast  with  modern  methods. 
Taking  a  railroad  train  as  the  modern  factor  instead  of  a  cart  or  a  barge,  they  have  lined  their 
shores  with  mile-long  piers  and  fitted  these  in  turn  with  vast  warehouses  and  travelling  cranes 
and  electric  trolleys  to  make  the  distribution  of  goods  easy  and  cheap.  London  is  the  greatest 
port  in  the  world.  Liverpool  has  spent  $150,000,000  on  her  docks  and  is  growing  faster  than 
London.  Now  London  has  new  dock  work  under  way  to  cost  $20,000,000  and  provide  accommo- 
dations for  steamers  of  850  feet  in  length.  Quebec  is  studying  an  important  dock  scheme  to 
receive  the  shipping  that  is  deserting  the  low  water  at  Montreal.  Indeed,  Montreal,  in  self 
defence,  has  even  considered  a  dam  and  locks  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River  itself.  Our  turn  has 
now  come,  if  we  would  increase  our  commerce. 

It  may  before  long  be  profitable  to  develop  our  inland  waters  as  Germany  has  done.  It 
is  conceivable  that  as  our  conditions  approach  those  of  older  countries  the  old  schemes  for  linking 
Boston  by  waterways  to  the  Connecticut  and  the  Hudson  may  be  again  considered,  and  the 
carrying  of  coal  in  sea-going  barges  by  the  Merrimac  to  Lowell,  or  from  Taunton  by  the  way 
of  Brockton  to  Fore  River,  may  become  a  practical  question.  We  review  how  this  question  has 
been  met  here  in  former  times  and  abroad  to-day. 

But  if  schemes  like  waterways  seem  to  give  such  slight  margins  for  profit  as  to  be  unneces- 
sary for  the  present  it  still  remains  clear  that  Boston  needs  some  awakening.  If  we  see  no  imme- 
diate prospect  of  a  railroad  to  the  West  run  in  Boston's  interest,  possibly  we  can  make  the  port 
enticing  to  those  that  do  run  here.  Our  farmers  are  aware  that  successful  agriculture  demands 
the  most  modern  machinery.  Our  mills  and  machine  shops  replace  their  machinery  with  modern 
types.  Boston  is  pre-eminently  a  port,  and  her  prosperity  must  rise  or  wane  not  only  as  she 
breeds  strong  men  or  maintains  lines  of  communication  with  the  interior  but  also  as  she  offers 
facilities  for  ocean  commerce.  Perhaps  the  suggestions  that  are  made  in  our  report  for  develop- 
ing the  maritime  advantages  of  the  port  may  at  least  tend  to  bring  the  subject  before  the  public. 
In  the  matter  of  convenient  communication,  the  subway,  the  elevated  road,  and  a  few 
but  generally  rather  crude  new  streets,  have  done  something  for  Boston.  The  new  law,  which 
permits  larger  takings  when  a  street  is  projected,  promises  well  for  any  future  streets  of  impor- 
tance. The  building  of  convenient  streets  through  the  old  city  is,  however,  attended  with  great 
expense,  and  can  be  done  but  rarely.  But  all  around  the  old  city  a  new  one  is  fast  arising,  and 
the  schemes  of  intercommunication  between  the  suburbs  and  from  the  suburbs  to  the  centres 
should  not  be  left  to  scattered  suburban  governments  nor  to  transportation  companies.  They 
should  be  carefully  and  patiently  thought  out  by  some  central  authority  and  gradually  con- 
structed according  to  a  settled  general  scheme.  We  have  been  reluctant  to  urge  any  radical 
changes  in  the  old  city,  partly  because  of  their  cost  and  partly  because  the  same  outlay  will  do 
vastly  more  in  the  newer  portions  of  Boston.  We  have  outlined  a  few  desirable  improvements 
and  especially  an  encircling  boulevard  to  connect  outlying  suburbs  and  to  cross  the  arteries  that 
radiate  from  the  main  city  centres. 

Our  city  parks,  which  give  us  a  reputation  for  a  love  of  the  beautiful,  are  now  nearly  a  gen- 
eration old,  and  the  metropolitan  parks  were  started  thirteen  years  ago.  Of  endeavors  to  make 
the  city  beautiful  in  any  large  way  by  well-ordered  streets  and  avenues  or  the  creation  of  monu- 


Budapest 


Budapest 


SudipesL 


I'lGURES  1  To  6.     Views  in  Budapest. 


FIGURES  7  TO  1U.     Views  in  Budapest. 


Figure  11.     View  of  the  King's  Highway,  Londc 


FIGURES  12  AND  13.     Views  in   Rio  Janeiro. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  3 

mental  sites  Boston  has  of  late  years  done  very  little.  Meanwhile  a  great  city  is  growing  up 
around  us  and  opportunities  are  rapidly  being  lost.  The  formation  of  convenient  thoroughfares 
incidentally  creates  sites  for  important  buildings.  Are  the  Court  House  and  Symphony  Hall  and 
Horticultural  Hall  and  the  Conservatory  of  Music  and  the  Christian  Science  Temple  placed  where 
they  show  to  the  best  advantage  ?  How  much  they  might  have  added  to  the  city  if  they  occu- 
pied monumental  sites  !  How  vastly  more  important  will  the  new  Medical  School  buildings  be, 
now  that  a  dignified  avenue  of  approach  to  them  is  determined  upon. 

Our  report  offers  some  suggestions  for  street  changes  that  will  create  monumental  sites,  as 
well  as  for  cutting  streets  through  waste  and  deserted  districts  near  the  city  centres,  and  for 
the  profitable  expansion  of  the  city  —  expansion  that  might  bring  dead  land  into  activity,  raise 
taxable  values,  increase  the  use  of  our  water  front  or  harbor,  and  thus  add  to  the  riches  of  the 
city.  Besides  these  subjects,  the  question  of  making  future  bridges  between  Cambridge  and 
Boston  less  expensive  and  thus  more  possible,  and  the  Charles  River  Basin  more  useful,  without 
destroying  its  beauty,  has  been  considered. 

Budapest.  We  all  know  how  foreign  cities  excel  us  in  adornment.  We  know  that 
this  is  not  the  result  of  happy  accident,  but  that  it  comes  from  the  intelligent  effort  of  men  who 
recognize  that  street  planning  is  an  art  to  be  studied  from  an  artistic  as  well  as  a  utilitarian  stand- 
point. We  see  this  in  Paris,  in  Vienna,  even  in  London.  It  happens,  however,  also,  in  less 
important  cities,  and  in  the  views  here  shown  of  Budapest  one  may  see  what  is  done  by  a  city 
substantially  like  Boston  in  population  and  wealth,  and  in  great  part  equally  modern  with 
Boston.  It  is,  however,  a  city  that  cares  far  more  than  we  do  for  the  arts  of  civilization. 
Although  we  may  not  sympathize  with  the  details  of  Hungarian  taste,  these  views  of  the 
bridges  over  the  Danube,  the  buildings  on  the  island  in  the  Park,  the  terraces  and  monu- 
ments beneath  St.  Matthew's  Church,  even  the  ordinary  street  architecture,  indicate  that  these 
Hungarians  value  there  more  than  we  do  here  those  things  that  make  for  beauty.  (See  Figures 
1  to  10.) 

Possibly  difficulties  are  easily  overcome  in  such  a  European  capital  as  Budapest,  because  so 
much  of  it  is  modern,  but  old  cities  like  Paris,  Vienna,  London,  and  many  others,  have  done 
vastly  more  for  the  same  ends.  It  was  no  light  enterprise  to  build  the  boulevards  around  and 
through  Paris  and  Vienna  and  to  give  their  ancient  monuments  beautiful  settings,  and  all  over 
the  civilized  world  cities,  old  and  new,  are  emulating  these  great  models. 

London.  At  this  moment  in  Loudon  the  Kingsway,  running  from  Holburn  near  South- 
ampton Row  to  the  Strand  near  Somerset  House,  is  nearing  completion.  It  has  been  constructed 
through  a  densely-populated  area  at  a  cost  of  ,£6,120,380,  and  it  is  claimed  that  it  will  involve  no 
final  expense  to  the  taxpayers,  because  the  Council  was  permitted  to  acquire  sufficient  property 
to  enable  it  to  benefit  from  the  improved  values.  In  this  improvement  and  in  that  contemplated 
on  Regent  Street  we  understand  that  the  abutting  builders  are  so  kept  under  control  that 
although  many  architects  may  be  employed,  the  architectural  continuity  of  the  street  is  to  be 
preserved.     (See  Figure  11.) 

Rio  Janeiro.  The  fever  for  municipal  improvement  has  also  reached  South  America, 
and  we  are  told  that  in  Rio  Janeiro  they  are  not  only  building  fine  docks  and  improving  the 
harbor,  but  that  a  space  2%  miles  long  and  300  feet  wide  has  been  appropriated  through  the 
settled  city  from  water  to  water  for  a  boulevard  100  feet  wide  and  over  a  mile  long.  The  sale  of 
the  100  feet  on  either  side  is  said  to  have  paid  for  the  whgle  improvement.  In  the  short  space 
of  eighteen  months  the  city  constructed  this  beautiful  avenue  and  gained  an  enormous  amount 
of  taxable  property.     (See  Figures  12  and  13.) 

Formosa.  The  Japanese  are  planning  a  capital  city  for  the  island  of  Formosa.  It  is 
said  that  Mr.  Fashima,  the  architect  who  has  the  design  in  hand,  has  recommended  the  essential 
principles  of  the  original  plan  of  Washington  and  is  modelling  his  city  on  those  lines. 


'-'—      -:iw-     M  . 


V..   - 


->. 


■ 


FIGURES  14  and  15.      Proposed    Improvements    in  Washington. 


.... 


FIGURES  16  and  17.      Proposed  Improvements  in  Cleveland. 


4  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

Newcastle.  In  the  last  ' '  Journal  of  the  Ro_yal  Institute  of  British  Architects  ' '  are 
careful  studies  for  the  municipal  improvement  of  the  city  of  Newcastle.  It  shows  that  the 
world  moves  when  we  find  in  this  report  the  Art  Commission  of  New  York  cited  as  a  model 
for  English  imitation. 

Canada.  We  may  note  that  the  American  interest  in  this  subject  has  spread  over  the 
border  to  Canada.  Toronto  has  become  deeply  interested  in  a  carefully  studied  plan  of  boulevards 
and  main  arteries  of  travel  and  of  parks  for  the  better  ordering  of  that  city. 

Havana.  Civic  improvements  are  comparatively  easy  when  made  by  autocrats.  There 
is  no  better  instance  -of  this  than  what  has  been  done  in  our  day  in  the  city  of  Havana.  We 
see  there  a  city  cleansed,  and  beautified  with  parks  and  boulevards,  by  American  despots  spending 
wisely  and  honestly  the  money  of  their  subjects.  It  was,  indeed,  at  any  rate  in  this  respect,  a 
benign  despotism,  and  it  produced  results  of  which,  as  results,  we  Americans  should  be  most 
proud. 

The  Philippines.  The  same  success  may  be  looked  for  in  the  Philippines.  The 
proposed  country  city  of  Baguio  is  planned  on  a  mountain  table-land  in  a  clear  and  open  place. 
The  designer  has  a  clean  sheet  before  him  and  control  of  the  purse-strings  of  the  Filipinos. 
That  is  an  easy  job.  In  Manila  itself,  where  great  improvements  are  in  prospect,  the  work  is 
also  easy  for  much  the  same  reasons,  and  we  cannot  but  believe  that  the  results  will  be  as  happy 
for  Manila  as  was  the  case  in  Havana.  We  wish  that  a  like  despotic  power  might  be  exerted  in 
some  of  our  own  cities  We  can,  however,  gain  new  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  a  democracy 
when  we  find  that  much  in  the  direction  of  municipal  improvement  is  being  actually  though 
slowly  done  in  cities  throughout  the  country. 

United  States.  It  happens  in  fact  that  in  these  recent  days  an  interest  in  municipal 
improvement  has  within  a  very  short  time  spread  all  over  our  country.  Those  American  cities 
which  have  had  time  to  think  are  devoting  energy  and  vast  sums  of  money  to  work  of  this  or  of 
similar  character.  They  find  that  municipal  improvement  not  only  tends  to  their  own  conven- 
ience, but  also  to  attract  strangers  and  to  directly  contribute  towards  a  city's  material  prosperity. 
In  most  of  the  cities  that  have  yielded  to  these  impulses,  the  results  have  taken  the  form  of  parks 
or  breathing  spaces  or  recreation  grounds.  In  this  matter  of  parks,  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis, 
St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Chicago,  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  all  are  now  following  the  example  set  by 
New  York,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia  and  Boston. 

Washington.  In  December,  1900,  was  celebrated  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of 
the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  to  Washington.  The  many  governors  and  the  officials 
then  in  the  city  urged  that  the  time  had  come  for  the  adequate  and  systematic  improvement  of 
the  District  of  Columbia.  At  the  same  time  the  American  Institute  of  Architects  had  its  annual 
meeting  in  Washington,  and  made  its  main  subject  for  discussion  the  development  of  parks  and 
the  placing  of  public  buildings.  One  of  its  committees  consulted  with  the  Senate  Committee  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  March,  1901,  the  United  States  Senate  directed  the  committee 
on  the  District  of  Columbia  to  report  to  the  Senate  plans  for  the  development  and  improvement 
of  the  entire  park  system  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  Accordingly,  the  commissioners  were 
appointed  who,  as  experts,  prepared  the  elaborate  plans  for  the  development  of  Washington  with 
which  we  are  all  familiar  and  which  in  great  part  are  a  return  to  the  original  design  by  L'Enfant. 
Their  value  is  now  recognized,  and  though  there  have  been  at  least  three  attempts  of  the  strongest 
kind  to  disregard  them,  each  attempt  has  been  frustrated.  With  even,'  such  case  the  position  of 
the  scheme  as  a  guide  for  all  future  government  work  has  become  stronger. 

Although  the  city  has  not  adopted  the  plan,  it  has  adopted  the  principle  that  governs  it, 
and  in  doing  so  she  has  faced  the  spending  of  millions  of  money  and  the  work  of  years  to  correct 
her  mistakes  and  to  make  herself  beautiful.  She  has  arranged  sites  for  public  buildings  around 
a  mall  that  had  become  a  slum  and  around  the  Capitol  Square.     She  has  provided  for  beautiful 


FIGURE   18.      Proposed  Improvements  in  St.   Louis. 


FiGURBS  19  AND  20.      Proposed   Improvements  in   Buffalo. 


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FIGURES  21  AND  22.     Proposed  Improvements  in   New  York. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  5 

parks  and  for  a  suitable  gateway  to  the  city  in  the  form  of  a  monumental  railroad  station  on  a 
great  public  plaza.  As  is  proper,  she  has  thus  set  the  example  of  monumental  planning  for  her 
sister  cities  in  the  United  States     (See  Figures  14  and  15.) 

Philadelphia.  lu  the  city  of  Philadelphia  allied  organizations  have  lately  printed  a 
pamphlet  which  forms  a  very  complete  study  of  what  has  been  done  in  very  many  American 
cities  in  the  building  of  parks.  They  now  purpose  printing  a  second  pamphlet  suggesting  civic 
and  municipal  improvements  for  the  city  of  Philadelphia  itself.  Indeed,  many  of  our  cities  have 
taken  this  next  step  in  the  civilized  ordering  of  their  surroundings  and  have  formulated  plans  for 
rapid  and  convenient  transportation  in  and  about  their  areas,  and  for  suitable  sites  for  public 
buildings,  or,  still  better,  for  a  grouping  of  several  municipal  buildings  in  a  monumental  way. 

Cleveland.  The  city  of  Cleveland  has  for  some  years  proposed  building  a  city  hall,  a 
county  building,  and  a  public  library.  The  United  States  Government  is  also  building  there 
a  post-office  and  sub-treasury  The  laws  of  the  State  of  Ohio  provide  that  cities  of  a  certain 
size  may  appoint  a  commission  that  shall  control  the  character  and  style  of  the  public  buildings 
and  their  location  on  land  taken  by  the  authorities.  Under  this  law  a  commission  of  three  was 
appointed  at  a  salary  of  not  over  $5,000  each,  and  a  district  of  dead  property  close  to  the  main 
centre  of  the  town  having  been  bought,  around  it  are  either  building  or  to  be  built  the  United 
States  Government  building,  the  library,  the  city  hall,  the  courts,  and  the  railway  station. 
The  latter  will  thus  form  a  veritable  municipal  gateway  by  which  the  stranger  will  enter  at  once 
into  the  heart  of  the  city.  In  fact,  this  city  has  actually  started  work  on  a  municipal  group 
scheme  which  the  average  citizen  of  any  city  in  the  United  States  would  pronounce  "  ideal,  but 
absolutely  impossible  of  fulfilment."      (See  Figures  16  and  17.) 

St.  Louis.  The  public  buildings  of  St.  Louis,  both  charitable  and  municipal,  having 
become  disgraceful  in  condition,  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  in  September,  1903,  created  a  Public 
Buildings  Commission  of  three  architects,  without  salary,  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  to  act  in  con- 
junction with  the  Comptroller  and  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings,  to  make  a  report  on  the 
remedy  for  the  situation,  with  descriptions  and  estimates  to  the  Municipal  Assembly,  at  a  cost  not 
exceeding  $5,000.  Their  study  was  given  to  a  definite  problem,  and  their  report  is  brief  and 
illustrated  with  three  or  four  good  drawings.     (See  Figure  18.) 

Sail  Francisco.  The  city  of  San  Francisco  has  also  had  a  plan  prepared,  showing 
improvements  of  a  most  magnificent  kind.  Before  the  recent  catastrophe  one  would  have  said 
they  were  out  of  proportion  to  the  size  and  prosperity  of  the  city.  Many  of  the  obstacles  have 
been  removed,  and  perhaps  this  plan,  which  seemed  almost  fantastic,  may  be  realized  in  part  or 
in  whole  sooner  than  many  less  ambitious  schemes. 

Buffalo.  In  this  city  thirteen  railroads  have  signed  a  proposition  for  a  new  union 
station.  A  plan  has  been  formulated  by  private  enterprise  for  placing  the  union  station  on  a 
dilapidated  tract  of  land  fronting  on  the  lake  and  close  to  the  busy  heart  of  the  city.  Options 
have  been  obtained  on  much  of  this  land.  In  front  of  the  station  would  be  a  plaza  on  which 
would  front  the  present  city  hall  and  other  future  public  buildings.  The  docks  will  be  reached 
by  viaducts  across  the  train  yards  back  of  the  station.  The  projectors  thus  hope  to  raise  values 
on  poor  property,  provide  adequate  sites  for  public  buildings,  and  a  suitable  water  front  and 
station  for  the  largest  collection  of  tracks  in  the  country  outside  of  Chicago.  All  this  is  urged 
on  the  Legislature  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  but  the  scheme  has  not  as  yet  been  fully 
accepted.     (See  Figures  19  and  20.) 

New  York.  The  city  of  New  York,  in  December,  1903,  created  a  commission  to  pre- 
pare "  a  comprehensive  plan  for  the  development  of  the  city  of  New  York."  They  have  made 
one  provisional  report  with  most  elaborate  illustrations.  \Ye  believe  another  report  that  mainly 
relates  to  Brooklyn  is  nearly  ready.  The  subjects  that  these  reports  discuss  are  such  as  the 
following  :  — 


6  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

Uniformity  of  construction  in  piers  on  the  water  front,  with  public  promenades  on  the 
roofs  of  the  buildings  on  the  piers ;  an  overhead  elevated  street  along  the  North  River  water 
front  ;  approaches  to  the  new  bridges  ;  ingenious  suggestions  to  better  conditions  at  crowded 
street  crossings;  extensions  of  various  thoroughfares;  and,  finally,  suitable  sites  for  public 
buildings,  school-houses  and  engine-houses,  with  a  view  to  their  effective  appearance,  and 
through  them  the  adornment  of  the  city.     (See  Figures  21  and  22.) 

Besides  organizing  this  commission  to  prepare  a  plan  of  development,  the  city  of  New 
York  also  delegates  to  its  art  commission  more  power  than  such  a  commission  has  in  other  cities. 
The  New  York  Art  Commission  has  jurisdiction  over  works  of  art  to  be  acquired  and  the  location 
of  those  possessed  by  the  city  ;  over  all  designs  for  decorative  structures  ;  over  the  designs  of 
more  serious  structures  on  public  land,  when  referred  to  them  by  the  Mayor  or  Aldermen  ;  and 
over  the  designs  of  all  structures  costing  over  $1,000,000  standing  on  public  land. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  propositions  were  acted  upon  in  1903  and  eighty -seven  in  1904. 

The  Mayor  and  the  presidents  of  four  societies  are  members  ex  officio,  and  six  members 
are  appointed  by  the  Mayor. 

They  have  lately  disapproved  the  plans  for  the  very  important  Hudson-Fulton  Bridge 
over  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  in  the  belief  that  a  more  satisfactory  structure  than  that  proposed 
can  be  obtained  with  further  study. 

Boston.  The  city  of  Boston  has  an  art  commission  appointed  by  the  Mayor  from  lists 
furnished  by  different  societies.  This  commission  controls  works  of  art  and  their  location,  and 
may,  when  requested  by  the  Mayor  or  City  Council,  control  the  design  and  location  of  munici- 
pal buildings  and  other  structures  on  public  land. 

Finally,  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects,  guided  by  a  desire  to  further  in  their  own  city 
similar  ends  to  those  that  we  have  here  described,  appointed  a  year  ago  a  large  committee  to  con- 
sider this  subject  of  municipal  improvement.  We  have  collected  such  sketches  and  suggestions 
as  have  from  time  to  time  been  proposed  for  the  prosperity  or  convenience  or  adornment  of  this 
city,  and  those  which  seem  to  us  to  have  real  significance  we  offer  in  this  report.  We  have  not 
endorsed  any  of  them  ;  they  are  only  suggestions  to  indicate  the  way  in  which  these  subjects 
should  be  approached.  We  trust  that  some  of  them  may  grow  beyond  the  stage  of  suggestions 
and  may  result  in  useful  improvements  in  the  city. 

Conclusion.  If  we  review  the  movements  towards  municipal  improvements  other  than 
parks  in  the  different  cities  of  the  country,  we  find  various  results  in  different  cities. 

We  find  in  St.  L,ouis  and  Cleveland  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  study  a  definite 
group  of  municipal  buildings  ;  in  Washington,  the  Philippines  and  San  Francisco  a  commission 
to  prepare  a  general  plan  of  development ;  in  New  York,  an  art  commission  with  extended  power 
over  matters  of  design  and  location  ;  and  in  Boston  we  have  a  similar  art  commission,  but  with 
restricted  powers. 

Our  committee  at  this  moment  is  not  prepared  to  urge  any  immediate  measure  looking  to 
the  advancement  in  Boston  of  any  of  the  matters  covered  by  our  report.  We  publish  this 
pamphlet,  in  order  to  arouse  public  interest  in  these  subjects,  and  to  show  how  either  one  or 
several  or  all  of  our  sketches  and  suggestions,  or  the  suggestions  of  others,  should  be  studied  if 
undertaken  by  those  with  more  powers  than  we  possess.  It  is  obvious,  we  think,  that  a  com- 
mission endued  with  proper  authority  and  with  funds  could  obtain  willing  advice  and  valuable 
testimony  from  sources  that  we,  as  a  committee  of  a  professional  society,  are  utterly  unable  to 
reach,  and  could  control  thoroughly  what  has  hitherto  been  done  by  separate  communities,  with 
no  concerted  action  and  following  no  comprehensive  plan. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement. 


A  Diagnosis  of  the  Case. 

One  of  our  members  thus  sums  up  the  present  conditions  which  stand  in  the  path  of 
improvement  in  Boston  :  — 

In  Boston  building  operations  are  practically  at  a  standstill.  On  the  other  hand,  we  hear 
of  vast  activities  in  New  York  and  throughout  the  country.  For  this  state  of  affairs  reasons 
exist,  and  one  of  our  members  thus  analyzes  the  conditions  by  which,  in  his  opinion,  the  growth 
of  the  city  is  impeded  :  — 

First.  By  the  great  areas  of  unoccupied  space  (land  and  water)  which  lie  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  city,  cutting  off  sections  from   each   other  and  preventing  communication. 

Second.  By  too  restrictive  building  laws,  both  as  to  height  and  material,  which  are 
largely  responsible  for  the  non-development  of  some  of  these  lands,  although  at  the  same 
time  they  allow  a  belt  of  imflammable  dwellings  in  the  outer  wards,  and  drive  many  people 
to  Brookline,  Newton,  Cambridge,  etc.,  where  their  taxable  property  as  well  as  their  good 
qualities  of  citizenship  are  lost  to  Boston. 

Taking  up  the  first  of  these  counts,  there  are  included  in  these  vacant  spaces  which,  in 
their  present  condition,  isolate  sections,  congest  traffic,  and  prevent  expansion  of  the  business 
district, — 

First.  The  Boston  &  Albany  car  yard,  extending  from  Exeter  to  Dalton  Streets, 
which  isolates  and  injures  the  Huntington  Avenue  section  by  separating  it  from  the  high- 
class  residential  district  between  Boylston  and  Beacon  Streets. 

Second.     The  South  Bay,  which  should  to  be  filled  and  utilized. 

Third.  The  land  formerly  occupied  by  the  Boston  &  Providence  Railroad,  which, 
being  unutilized,  isolates  and  injures  the  Columbus  Avenue  district. 

Fourth.  The  park  system  of  the  Fenway,  which  obstructs  the  city's  growth  to  the 
southwest. 

Fifth.  The  Charles  River,  which  isolates  the  Riverbank  lands  in  Cambridge,  owing 
to  lack  of  means  of  communication. 

If  these  spaces  could  be  better  utilized,  they  would  comfortably  accommodate  a  very  large 
population  and  give  easily  accessible  sites  for  mercantile  and  manufacturing  buildings.  As  much 
of  this  tract  is  within  walking  distance  of  down  town,  the  transportation  facilities  would  not 
have  to  be  greatly  increased  ;  also,  in  much  of  the  district  the  streets  are  all  constructed  com- 
plete with  sewerage  and  water  supply  and  are  lighted  every  night. 

To  overcome  these  obstacles  to  a  generous  development,  the  following  action  is  suggested  :  — 

First  and  Second.  An  investigation  should  be  made  as  to  the  feasibility  of  an 
exchange  by  which  the  South  Bay  would  be  filled  and  utilized  by  the  Boston  &  Albany 
Railroad  as  a  car  yard,  thus  freeing  the  Boylston  Street  land  for  building  purposes.  The 
South  Bay  is  less  than  one  half  as  far  from  the  terminal  as  is  the  Exeter  Street  yard,  and 
is  already  reached  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad. 

The  land  at  the  South  Bay  would  not  be  nearly  as  valuable  as  that  at  Exeter  Street, 
and  there  would  be  plenty  of  room  there  for  both  the  car  yard  and  a  business  district. 
The  Exeter  Street  land  is  now  urgently  needed,  and  the  city's  business  growth  in  its  direc- 
tion is  being  checked  by  want  of  it. 

Should  such  an  exchange  prove  impracticable,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  crossing  the 
New  York  &  New  Haven  tracks,  possibly  some  arrangement  could  be  made  in  the  direction 


8  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

of  freeing  a  portion  of  the  land  along  the  edges  of  the  Boylston  Street  car  yards,  and  the 
extension  of,  say,  West  Newton  Street  across  the  yard  by  a  bridge  to  Boylston  Street. 

Third.  Immediate  action  towards  getting  sufficient  cross  streets  through  the  Provi- 
dence Station  lands,  with  a  view  to  freeing  not  only  all  that  unused  property  but  all  the 
city  to  the  south  of  it. 

Fourth.  The  barrier  of  the  Fenway  Park  could  be  broken  by  the  extension  of 
Westlaud  Avenue,  relocation  of  Boylston  Street,  and  construction  of  the  cross  street 
from  the  new  Art  Museum  to  the  "  Five  Corners"  on  Beacon  Street,  as  shown  on  our  map 
of  the  Fenway  lands. 

Fifth.  Such  changes  in  the  building  laws  as  will  tend  towards  economical  con- 
struction of  modern  apartment  houses  on  the  new  laud  in  which  suites  can  be  profitably 
rented  at  moderate  prices  to  that  most  desirable  class  of  the  population,  —  young  clerks, 
business  and  professional  men  and  their  families,  —  who  now,  because  of  high  rents,  are 
driven  to  Brookline,  Newton  and  other  suburbs.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  while  a 
resident  of  Brookline  gains  his  livelihood  in  Boston  and  shares  in  the  benefits  of  the  city's 
streets,  parks,  sewerage,  public  library  and  fire  department,  he  often  contributes  nothing 
to  the  taxes  nor  to  its  good  citizenship. 

In  short,  to  improve  Boston,  consolidate  the  population  by  filling  the  gaps  in  the  city 
plan;  avoid  congestion  by  enlarging  the  business  district;  and  keep  within  the  city  limits  the 
prosperous  and  educated  class  that  now  goes  to  the  suburbs. 


Ail  Inner  Boulevard.  —  An  Outer  Boulevard. 

The  committee  to  whom  these  matters  were  referred  thus  describe  two  possible  boulevards 
encircling  the  city.      (See  Figure  23.) 

A  large  number  of   main  thoroughfares  radiating  from  the  city  proper  extend    into    the 
suburbs  of  Boston  and  resemble,  in  their  general  arrangement,  the  spokes  of  a  wheel. 

Dorchester  Avenue,  Bluehill  Avenue,  Washington  Street,  Tremont  Street,  Huntington 
Avenue,  Beacon  Street,  Commonwealth  Avenue,  Massachusetts  Avenue,  Somerville  Avenue  and 
Mystic  Avenue,  to  name  only  the  most  important,  afford  reasonably  direct  means  of  communica- 
tion between  the  central  portion  of  the  city  and  the  outlying  centres  of  population. 

It  is  a  comparatively  simple  and  easy  matter  to  travel  from  the  central  portion  of  the  city 
to  almost  any  point  in  the  outlying  suburbs,  or,  conversely,  to  go  from  any  point  in  the  suburbs 
to  the  city  proper ;  but  when  we  attempt  to  travel  by  electric  car,  carriage  or  automobile  across 
from  one  outlying  section  to  another,  as,  for  instance,  from  Cambridge  to  Roxbury  Crossing,  or 
from  Longwood  to  South  Boston,  or  from  Brookline  to  the  Revere  Beach  Parkway  in  Somerville, 
we  find  that  the  available  routes  are  inconvenient  and  circuitous,  and  if  by  the  electric  car  it 
will  probably  be  necessary  to  transfer  several  t  mes. 

To  better  these  conditions  the  construction  of  two  belt  lines  is  suggested,  encircling  the 
citv  on  the  south  and  west,  and  crossing  all  of  the  main  radiating  lines  spoken  of  above. 

The  first  of  these,  lying  within  the  line  of  hills  which  encircles  the  city  on  the  south  and 
west,  might  be  called  "The  Inner  Boulevard,"  and  the  other,  lying  at  a  considerably  greater 
distance  from  the  center,  "The  Outer  Boulevard."  Both  of  these  boulevards  consist  in  part  of 
existing  streets  which  only  need  to  be  widened  and  connected  by  the  necessary  missing  links  to 
form  continuous  lines  of  communication. 


FIGURE  23.     Diagram  Showing  Location  of  Proposed  Inner  and  Outer  Boulevards. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  9 

The  Inner  Boulevard  begins  at  Andrew  Square,  in  South  Boston,  and  crosses  the  now 
vacant  mud  flats  of  the  South  Bay  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Dudley  Street  Station  in  Roxbury. 
Thence,  swinging  a  little  to  the  north,  it  follows  the  line  of  Vernon  Street,  crossing  Tremont 
Street  a  little  to  the  east  of  Roxbury  Crossing.  Continuing  to  Huntington  Avenue,  it  next 
traverses  the  vacant  lands  of  the  Fenway  region,  passing  between  the  Gardner  Museum  and  the 
new  Normal  School,  and  crosses  the  newly  planned  approach  to  the  Medical  School  at  right 
angles,  giving  the  opportunity  for  a  monumental  square  at  this  point.  Continuing  to  Brookline 
Avenue  opposite  Short  Street,  and  thence,  by  way  of  Short  Street,  it  passes  in  front  of  the  new 
dormitory  group  of  Simmons  College,  and  then  across  Muddy  River  by  a  new  bridge  to  Haws 
Street,  passing  by  the  Sears  Memorial  Church  ;  then  by  way  of  Hawes  Street  to  Beacon  Street. 
From  Beacon  Street  it  goes  by  a  direct  line  to  Cottage  Farm  Bridge  and  so  across  to  Cambridge. 
At  this  point  the  boulevard  divides,  one  branch  going  direct  to  Harvard  Square  by  way  of 
Putnam  Avenue,  and  the  other  through  East  Cambridge  and  Somerville  to  Broadway  Park, 
where  it  joins  the  Mystic  Valley  and  Revere  Beach  Parkways.  The  best  location  for  this  latter 
route  would  appear  to  be  the  roadbed  of  the  Grand  Junction  of  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad. 

As  the  city  of  Cambridge  develops,  the  numerous  grade  crossings  of  this  railway  will  become 
intolerable  and  some  plan  will  have  to  be  adopted  for  getting  rid  of  them.  It  would  seem  that 
the  best  interests  of  the  city  would  be  served  by  the  abandonment  of  this  location  by  the  railway 
company.  This  idea  was  suggested  in  the  report  of  the  Rapid  Transit  Commission  of  1892,  and 
several  plans  were  recommended  by  them  for  connecting  the  main  line  of  the  Boston  &  Albany 
with  its  freight  yards  in  Fast  Boston. 

A  variation  from  this  route,  with  a  different  crossing  of  Muddy  River,  would  be  as  follows  :  — 

Widen  and  extend  Short  Street  and  pass  between  the  new  dormitories  of  Simmons  College 
and  the  grounds  of  the  Long  wood  Cricket  Club. 

From  this  point  a  new  viaduct  across  the  Muddy  River  and  the  Brookline  branch  of  the 
Boston  &  Albany  Railroad  brings  us  to  Carleton  Street.  The  widening  and  extension  of  Carleton 
Street  to  Commonwealth  Avenue  forms  the  next  section,  and  the  boulevard  then  crosses  the 
Charles  River  by  a  new  bridge  opposite  Chilmark  Street  and  proceeds  to  Cambridge  as  described 
for  the  other  route,  and  connects  with  the  roadbed  of  the  Grand  Junction  Railroad  at  an  easy 
angle. 

A  new  bridge  at  this  point,  in  preference  to  the  present  Cottage  Farm  Bridge,  would  afford 
easier  approaches  on  either  side.  The  Cottage  Farm  Bridge  in  its  present  state  can  only  be 
regarded  as  a  temporary  structure  and  would  be  obviously  unfitted  to  serve  as  a  permanent  feature 
in  any  far-reaching  plan  of  improvement. 

The  boulevard  should  be  constructed  of  ample  width,  providing  for  grass  plots  and  rows  of 
trees  on  either  side,  between  the  roadway  and  the  sidewalk,  with  a  separate  reservation  for  the 
electric  car  tracks. 

The  Outer  Boulevard  starts  from  Fields  Corner  in  Dorchester,  the  junction  point  of  two 
great  thoroughfares,  Neponset  Avenue  and  Dorchester  Avenue.  From  Fields  Corner  the  first  sec- 
tion of  the  boulevard  is  formed  by  the  widening  of  the  present  Adams  Street  to  Meeting  House 
Hill.  This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  spots  in  Boston,  and  deserves  to  be  made  more  accessible. 
Here  is  a  fine  old  colonial  meeting  house,  another  church  of  more  modern  type,  with  a  very 
picturesque  tower,  and  the  Mather  School, —  the  whole  forming  a  most  interesting  group.  From 
the  crest  of  the  hill,  at  the  rear  of  the  school,  a  fine  water  view  is  to  be  had,  which  could  be 
much  improved  by  cutting  through  a  vista  to  the  water's  edge. 

From  Meeting  House  Hill  the  boulevard  traverses  the  highland  district  of  Dorchester, 
crossing,  in  turn,  Columbia  Road,  Blue  Hill  Avenue,  Warren  Street,  Humboldt  Avenue,  and 
Washington  Street,  to  the  junction  of  Centre  Street  and  Columbus  Avenue  in  Roxbury.  This  is 
another  important  focal  point. 


10  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

The  boulevard  then  continues  to  the  west  of  Heath  Street,  on  a  gentle  ascent,  passing  by 
the  rear  of  the  Jefferson  School  to  the  crest  of  the  ridge  above  South  Huntington  Avenue, 
affording  at  this  point  a  fine  prospect  of  Brookline  Village  and  the  hills  beyond.  The  boulevard 
then  descends  to  the  junction  of  Brookline  Avenue  and  Washington  Street.  At  this  point  the 
construction  of  a  plaza  or  rond-point  is  suggested,  with  a  transfer  station  for  the  electric  lines 
which  converge  here.     (See  Figure  24. ) 

From  this  point  the  boulevard  follows  the  line  of  Harvard  Street  to  Coolidge's  Corner  and 
Allston. 

From  Coolidge's  Corner  a  cross  connection  may  be  made  to  Central  Square  in  Cambridge 
by  way  of  Pleasant  Street  and  Magazine  Street,  requiring  only  the  construction  of  a  new  bridge 
across  the  river  to  make  this  a  continuous  line. 

The  route  here  suggested  is  the  result  of  a  careful  survey  of  the  territory,  together 
with  a  study  of  the  contour  lines,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  rise  from  Brookline  Village  to 
South  Huntington  Avenue,  is  free  from  heavy  grades. 

The  Outer  Boulevard  crosses  the  various  lines  of  steam  railway  radiating  from  the  city  at 
or  near  the  following  stations,  in  order:  the  Harrison  Square  Station  of  the  main  line  of  the  Old 
Colony  ;  the  Fields  Corner  Station  of  the  Milton  branch  of  the  same  road  ;  the  Bird  Street 
Station  of  the  New  York  &  New  England  ;  the  Heath  Street  Station  of  the  Boston  &  Providence  ; 
and  the  Brookline  and  Allston  Stations  of  the  Boston  &  Albany. 

This  outer  line  of  boulevard  should  also  eventually  be  used  for  a  circuit  line  of  surface 
electric  cars. 


Development  of  the  Fenway. 

The  following  suggestions  are  made  by  those  who  have  studied  this  matter :  ■ — 

The  lack  of  adequate  cross-lines  of  communication  is  apparent  in  all  parts  of  Boston.  It 
is  by  all  means  desirable  that  the  city  should  be  more  closely  knit  together  by  direct  cross-lines 
such  as  that  which  was  obtained  between  Cambridge  and  the  Back  Bay  by  the  building  of  the 
Harvard  Bridge.  These  are  difficult  of  attainment  in  the  crowded  city,  but  they  are  quite  within 
reach  in  such  unsettled  portions  of  the  town  as  the  Fenway. 

The  future  importance  of  this  part  of  the  city  is  assured  by  the  character  of  the  buildings 
which  have  been  or  soon  will  be  built  there.  In  looking  westward  toward  Parker  Hill  from  the 
Boylston  Bridge  anyone  will  recognize  the  great  possibilities  of  this  region  ;  and  the  Gardner 
Museum,  Simmons  College,  the  new  buildings  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School,  and  those  of  the 
Normal  and  Girls'  Latin  Schools,  are  worthy  of  a  better  setting  than  they  now  have. 

The  fact  that  large  areas  of  this  land  are  undeveloped  and  that  the  streets  are  only  in  part 
constructed  makes  it  yet  possible  to  carry  out  important  changes  here  without  excessive  expense, 
but  advantage  should  be  taken  of  the  opportunity  before  further  building  has  fixed  the  present 
street  lines. 

An  adequate  approach  to  the  Harvard  Medical  School  is  already  assured  through  the  efforts 
of  public-spirited  citizens  and  the  co-operation  of  the  city  authorities,  but  even  this  great  improve- 
ment will  not  be  perfected  until  a  suitable  ending  is  given  the  new  street  where  it  joins  the  park. 

There  is,  however,  elsewhere  in  the  Fenway  a  great  lack  of  adequate  cross-thoroughfares, 
the  street  intersections  are  awkward,  and  the  advantageous  sites  for  public  buildings  or  monu- 
ments are  by  no  means  as  numerous  as  they  easily  might  be. 

Those  who  travel  on  the  Ipswich  Street  cars  have  cause  to  wonder  at  the  crooked  corners 
on  that  route.     Consider  also  by  what  a  circuitous  route  one  must  travel  from  Bay  State  Road  to 


Note 


Amount  of  land  taken     SOIOO     square   feet, (""  .^         .    ,        ±  Associated  ArchitCCte 

Z ■       -       ---...         Walter  Amerton 


FIGURE   24.      A   Plan  for  an    Entrance   to  the  Town  of  Brookline. 


"SKETCH  -  SHOWING - 
-OF-THE-BACK-BAT-rE^S  - 


iTc  ALE  -2.ooTt=1i/m 


FrGURK  25.      Proposed  Streets  in  the  Fenway  Neighborhood. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  n 

Symphony  Hall,  and  the  lack  of  adequate  approaches  to  the  new  site  of  the  Museum  of  Pine 
Arts  from  the  north  and  east.  The  slow  development  of  the  Fenway  may  be  attributed  in  part 
to  this  lack  of  adequate  cross-thoroughfares. 

The  plan  suggested  for  the  Fenway  is  shown  in  Figure  25,  and  the  main  features  of  it  are 

as  follows:  — 

Extending  from  Huntington  Avenue  to  Brookline  Avenue  the  plan  shows  a  portion  of 
the    "  Inner  Boulevard,"   which    is  d  above.     This    section  of  the   proposed   boulevard 

should  be  constructed  at  once  before  the  opportunity  is  lost. 

The  second  feature  of  the  plan  is  the  creation  of  a  plaza  or  rond-point  at  the  inner  end 
of  Boylston  Street,  at  its  intersection  with  the  axis  of  Westland  Avenue.  The  latter  street  is 
shown  as  extended  across  the  Fens  by  a  low  causeway,  and  its  junction  with  Boylston  Street  is 
made  a  focal  point. 

This  rond-point  would  make  a  fine  site  for  some  future  memorial  statue  or  fountain. 

The  present  crooked  Ipswich  .Street  is  straightened  and  made  to  intersect  with  Boylston 
Street  at  an  angle  symmetrical  with  Westland  Avenue.  These  two  changes  alone,  simple  and 
comparatively  inexpensive,  would  make  a  great  improvement. 

This  rond-point  is  still  further  emphasized  by  a  broad  cross-thoroughfare  extending 
from  Huntington  Avenue  by  the  site  of  the  new  Art  Museum  to  the  so-called  "  Five  Corners." 
or  the  junction  of  Brookline  Avenue,  Beacon  Street  and  Commonwealth  Avenue. 

By  a  still  further  extension  across  the  basin  the  lower  end  of  the  proposed  island  in  the 
Charles  River  is  reached,  and  so  across  to  Cambridge,  thus  providing  one  more  of  those  desirable 
cross-thoroughfares,  the  need  of  which  is  elsewhere  spoken  of. 


Development    of  the   Charles   River   Basin. 

When  your  committee  made  their  earliest  collection  of  schemes  for  the  improvement  of 
Boston,  one  was  presented  for  the  development  of  the  Charles  River  Basin  which  included  an 
island.  It  then  appeared  that  another  member  had  prepared  another  scheme  also  including  an 
island.  It  is  of  interest  that  this  thought  occurred  to  two  different  designers  without  any  consul- 
tation, for  it  certainly  adds  force  to  this  novel  suggestion. 

Both  of  these  designers  intended  that  the  island  should  not  only  shorten  the  length  of  the 
bridges  to  Cambridge  but  should  also  offer  building  sites  of  greater  or  less  magnificence.  Later, 
another  member  suggested  that  many  might  regard  the  hope  of  gaining  productive  real  estate 
here  as  visionary,  yet  an  island  might  be  worth  having  even  without  any  such  speculative 
intentions. 


We  will  describe  these  three  versions  of  this  suggestion,  but  first  give  a  description  of  the 
present  conditions  of  this  great  sheet  of  water  :  — 

When  the  ancient  tidal  areas  of  the  Back  Bay  and  Cambridge  were  filled  to  reclaim  them 
for  building  purposes  the  Charles  River  Basin  was  not  reserved  in  the  heart  of  the  district  for 
aesthetic  reasons.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  reserved  by  the  War  Department  simply  as  a  storage 
place  for  incoming  tides,  it  being  then  believed  that  the  outrush  of  snch  a  great  volume  of  water 
at  ebb  tide  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  formation  of  silt  shoals  in  the  harbor.  Within  a  few- 
years  it  has  been  decided  that  the  value  of  the  basin  for  this  service  is  of  no  importance,  and  the 
government  has  authorized  a  dam  to  be  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Charles  which  will  stop  the 
former  tidal  movement.     The  original  restrictions  determining  the  size  of  the  basin  being  removed, 


12  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

we  are  at  liberty  to  consider  as  matters  of  the  very  first  importance  the  communication  across  the 
basin  and  the  development  of  the  surrounding  land  for  private  and  public  occupation,  while 
preserving  for  aesthetic  as  well  as  practical  reasons  the  advantages  of  the  water  frontage. 

The  Basin,  between  the  Cottage  Farms  Bridge  and  the  new  West  Boston  Bridge,  is  a 
much  larger  sheet  of  water  than  is  popularly  realized.  Its  area  is  over  ten  times  that  of  Boston 
Common  and  over  twenty  times  that  of  the  Public  Garden,  while  it  equals  the  entire  extent 
of  Franklin  Park  ;  it  is  considerably  larger  than  the  upper  portion  of  Boston  Harbor  above 
the  Cunard  Docks,  embracing  the  water-sheet  bounded  by  T  Wharf,  the  Red  Star  Docks, 
the  Navy  Yard,  Chelsea,  and  East  Boston  ;  and  it  is  approximately  eleven  times  the  size  of  the 
Binnen  Alster  Basin  at  Hamburg,  Germany.  A  comparison  of  its  width  with  familiar  water- 
ways is  no  less  striking.  (See  Figures  26  to  34.)  It  is  wider  than  Boston  Harbor  between  T 
Wharf  and  East  Boston  ;  it  is  three  times  the  width  of  the  Thames  at  Westminster  Bridge, 
London,  seven  times  the  width  of  the  Seine  opposite  the  Eiffel  Tower  in  Paris,  and  about  ten 
times  the  width  of  the  Tiber  at  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo  in  Rome.  It  exactly  equals  the  Rhine 
in  width  at  the  great  Cologne  Bridge.  So  broad  is  the  basin  that  the  eye  finds  more  pleasure  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  sky  above  it  and  the  waves  which  ruffle  its  surface  than  in  the  buildings 
and  human  activities  faintly  discernible  upon  its  distant  shores  —  shores  which  promise  in  the 
future  to  be  as  fine  as  the  river  margins  of  any  European  cities. 

Boston  and  Cambridge  are  in  a  great  measure  visually  separated  from  one  another  by  this 
sheet  of  water.  Their  physical  separation  is  also  considerable,  inasmuch  as  the  bridges,  on 
account  of  their  great  length,  are  too  costly  to  be  provided  in  adequate  numbers.  At  present 
there  are  bridges  once  in  each  mile,  while  in  London  and  Paris  they  occur  from  four  to  six 
times  as  often. 

The  author  of  the  design  first  presented  thus  describes  what  he  names  St.  Botolph's  Island 
(see  Figures  35,  36  and  26)  :  — 

At  present  the  Charles  River  separates  Cambridge  from  Boston,  instead  of  combining  it 
with  the  general  metropolitan  scheme. 

This  water  space  is  too  large  for  proper  effect,  for  at  the  Harvard  Bridge  it  is  2200  feet 
wide.  Passage  over  the  bridge  is  often  disagreeable,  as  there  is  no  protection  from  the  savage 
northerly  winds  which  blow  on  through  the  streets  of  the  Back  Bay  and  fill  them  with  circulating 
dirt.  The  space  is  much  greater  than  any  similar  water  space  in  Continental  cities,  where  one 
may  easily  discover  that  a  far  greater  effect  may  be  obtained  from  a  water  area  a  tenth  or  even  a 
twentieth  of  the  size  of  this  basin.  At  a  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above  water  level,  the 
eye  refuses  to  take  in  distances  greater  than  750  feet,  and  therefore  a  waterway  of  this  width  is 
as  good  for  aesthetic  purposes  as  an  expanse  of  2,200  feet. 

From  an  artistic  standpoint  the  present  basin  is  empty,  vague,  and  uninteresting.  Such 
an  island  as  is  proposed  would  form  the  most  desirable  focus,  would  give  scale  to  the  banks  of 
the  river  and  would  leave  adequate  waterways  on  either  side  for  all  practical  and  picturesque 
effects.  Buildings  here  would  have  the  great  advantage  of  being  seen  from  a  considerable  dis- 
tance. They  would  acquire  dignity  through  a  certain  aloofness.  The  views,  both  from  the  land 
and  from  the  water,  would  be  constantly  varied,  and  such  an  island,  with  high  stone  embank- 
ments crowned  by  balustrades  broken  by  statues,  with  domes  and  towers  of  public  buildings,  civil 
and  ecclesiastical,  rising  above  a  circle  of  trees,  the  whole  reflected  in  the  still  water  that  sur- 
rounded it,  would  be  almost  unique  in  the  line  of  civic  beauty,  whether  in  the  Old  World  or  the 
New.  On  new  land  of  this  kind  special  restrictions  as  to  the  height  and  design  of  buildings 
could  be  made,  and  a  certain  amount  of  unity  of  style  would  be  possible,  as  would  not  be  the  case 
in  an  old  portion  of  the  city,  where  existing  buildings  would  have  to  be  taken  into  consideration. 

The  buildings  that  would  rise  here  might  depend,  more  or  less,  on  the  thus  far  unsolved 


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Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  13 

problems  of  municipal  government.  There  is  a  demand  for  some  kind  of  unification  of  adminis 
tration  for  the  entire  Metropolitan  District.  Should  a  satisfactory  scheme  be  worked  out  to  this 
end,  here  would  be  found  a  proper  site  for  the  executive  and  legislative  departments  of  the 
metropolitan  government.  The  westerly  end  of  the  island  would  form  an  ideal  location  for  the 
proposed  cathedral  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  none  more  convenient  and  distinguished  for 
such  a  structure  could  suggest  itself.  Here,  also,  might  be  built  both  hotels  and  apartment 
houses,  churches,  and  various  charitable  and  educational  institutions,  together  with  private 
houses,  while  stores  and  shops  might  be  provided  for  along  the  line  of  Massachusetts  Avenue. 
A  metropolitan  opera  house  and  theatre  might  also  be  erected  here. 

There  are  no  material  difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  a  project,  so  far  as  construction  is 
concerned.     The  actual  building  area  of  the  accompanying  plan  is  1,750,000  square  feet. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  wherein  such  an  island  would  result  in  any  disadvantages.  The 
current  in  the  stream  would  be  greatly  improved,  the  rowing  course  would  be  preserved  intact 
and  greatly  bettered,  and  all  the  land  on  the  other  side  of  the  Charles  River  would  be  improved 
in  value.  One  million  feet  of  land  improved  with  buildings  would  become  available  for  taxation, 
while  the  city  would  acquire  an  element  of  distinguished  beauty  that  would  have  a  distinct 
pecuniary  value. 

In  the  matter  of  transportation  there  are  many  possibilities  which  would  result  in  bringing 
the  island  into  close  contact  with  the  rest  of  the  city.  The  Boylston  Street  subway  might  be 
continued  through  Massachusetts  Avenue  to  Beacon  Street,  where  it  would  drop  below  the  bed  of 
the  river,  pass  under  the  island,  and  rise  again  to  the  surface  in  Cambridge.  At  the  level  above 
this  would  pass  the  proposed  Beacon  Street  line  under  the  present  north  embankment  of  the 
river,  while  a  circuit  railway  would  pass  entirely  around  the  perimeter  of  the  island.  If  the 
Beacon  Street  subway  were  kept  as  an  express  line,  the  island  would  be  within  five  minutes' 
travel  of  Park  Square.  Another  possibility  would  be  an  abolition  of  the  present  freight  line 
through  Cambridge,  the  dropping  of  the  Boston  &  Albany  tracks  at  Allston  and  their  continua- 
tion diagonally  under  the  river  and  directly  below  the  open  square  on  the  island,  a  large  central 
railway  station  for  passengers  being  provided  below  grade  at  this  point;  thus  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  &  Hartford  and  Boston  &  Maine  systems  would  be  brought  into  touch,  so  that  there 
would  be  a  through  line  of  communication  from  New  York  and  the  West  to  Maine  and  Canada. 
Lines  of  motor  boats  from  the  new  dam  could  give  water  communication  up  and  down  the  river, 
tying  the  island,  Boston  and  Cambridge  more  closely  together. 

The  opportunity  for  a  feature  of  extraordinary  beauty  which  is  offered  by  the  present 
unimproved  basin  is  one  which  should  not  be  lightly  disregarded.  Any  city  in  Europe,  even  the 
smaller,  would  seize  on  such  a  chance  with  avidity,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  hoped  that  Boston 
may  appreciate  the  unique  opportunity  that  confronts  it,  and  make  St.  Botolph's  Island  an 
actuality. 

The  accompanying  plan  is  offered  simply  for  the  purpose  of  indicating  the  possibility  of 
an  island.  The  dimensions  of  the  Cite  in  Paris  have  been  more  or  less  closely  followed.  An 
island  of  this  size  would  leave  a  750-foot  waterway  toward  Boston,  and  a  450-foot  waterway 
toward  Cambridge,  but  its  shape  and  dimensions  might  be  changed  after  more  prolonged  study. 


The  second  design  is  thus  described  by  its  author  (see  Figures  37  and  39):  — 
The  need  of  communication  between  Cambridge  and  Boston  to  stimulate  commercial  activ- 
ity in  the  districts  removed  from  the  basin,  and  to  accelerate  the  upbuilding  and   use  of  the  basin 
margins,  requires  the  construction  of  additional  bridges.     The  future  may  require  many  of  these 


14  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

thoroughfares,  but  at  present  two  are  clearly  needed  —  one  at  Dartmouth  Street  and  the  other 
at  the  "Cross  Roads,"  where  Beacon  Street  intersects  Commonwealth  and  Brookline  Avenues. 
Dartmouth  Street,  lying  about  midway  between  the  West  Boston  and  Harvard  Bridges,  would,  if 
extended,  exactly  meet  two  main  arteries  of  travel  —  Main  Street  and  Broadway — at  their  point 
of  junction  in  Kendal  .Square,  Cambridge,  and  thus  establish  connection  with  Copley  Square, 
the  Back  Bay  and  Trinity  Place  stations,  and  South  Boston.  Copley  Square  requires  this  north- 
ern outlet  to  Cambridge.  A  similar  outlet  is  required  at  the  ' '  Cross  Roads, ' '  to  connect  Brookline 
Avenue  and  outer  Beacon  Street  with  the  Cambridge  esplanade,  approximately  on  the  line  of 
Deerfield  Street.  Both  these  bridges,  on  account  of  their  great  length,  would  be  costly,  and 
would  injure  the  total  effect  of  the  present  basin  by  cutting  it  into  a  series  of  smaller  basins  or 
panels  nearly  square  in  shape. 

Were  an  island  one  thousand  feet  wide,  extending  from  the  "  Cross  Roads"  Bridge  to  the 
Dartmouth  Street  Bridge,  built  in  the  midst  of  the  Charles  River  Basin,  many  of  the  foregoing 
difficulties  would  be  overcome  and  many  unexpected  advantages  derived  :  — 

1.  Two  waterways  would  be  secured:  one  considerably  wider  than  the  Seine  at  Paris,  and  the 

other  equal  in  width  to  the  Thames  in  London. 

2.  The  shores  of  these  waterways  would  be  sufficiently  near  to  satisfy  the  eye,  but  the  minimum 

distance  between  the  opposite  lines  of  houses  would  be  over  eight  hundred  feet. 

3.  A  basin   twice  the  size  of  the  Binnen  Alster  Basin  at   Hamburg  would   remain   above  the 

island,  opposite  Bay  State  Road. 
A  basin  three  times  the  size  of  the  Binnen  Alster  would  remain  below  the  island,  opposite 
the  rear  of  Brimmer  Street. 

4.  The  total  present  shore  of  the  basin  would  be  nearly  doubled. 

5.  All  bridges  would  be  reduced  one  thousand  feet  in  length,  and  the  continuity  of  the  rela- 

tively narrow  waterways  would  be  agreeably  broken  by  bridging. 

6.  Over  six  million  square  feet  of  land  would  be  reclaimed  from  the  river. 

Tentative  studies  have  been  made  which  show  that  a  central  street  as  wide  as  Common- 
wealth Avenue  could  be  constructed  along  the  centre  of  the  island  and  leave  ample  space  on  each 
side  for  two  rows  of  lots,  each  one  hundred  feet  in  depth,  without  encroaching  upon  a  continuous 
waterside  esplanade  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  encircling  the  entire  island.  This  central 
street  would  be  several  hundred  feet  longer  than  the  portion  of  Commonwealth  Avenue  between 
Massachusetts  Avenue  and  the  Public  Garden,  while  the  esplanade  would  be  nearly  three  times 
that  length.  Two  canals  crossing  the  island  are  suggested  to  accommodate  the  passage  of  boats 
between  the  two  main  branches  of  the  river. 

The  almost  unparalleled  sites  which  this  island  rising  from  the  divided  waters  of  the 
Charles  would  offer  for  public  buildings,  churches  and  dwellings,  need  hardly  be  mentioned  to  be 
appreciated,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  value  of  any  property  within  view  of  the  island  could  not 
fail  to  be  enhanced  by  its  presence. 


The  third  plan  presented  is  based  on  the  idea  that  the  formation  of  an  island,  with  the 
hope  of  profiting  by  it  as  real  estate,  is  a  doubtful  experiment.  The  expense  of  building  a 
park-like  island  in  the  basin  by  dredging  and  filling  would  not  be  very  great,  and  the  saving 
in  the  cost  of  future  bridges  would  go  far  towards  the  cost.  Such  an  island  would  embellish 
the  river  park  and  might  be  the  site  for  a  few  buildings,  such  as  restaurants  or  boathouses  or  a 
summer  theatre. 


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FlGURBS  40  AND  41.      Sketch  for  the   Improvement  of  Arlington  Street. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  15 

A  Suggestion  for  the  Improvement  of  Arlington  Street. 

A  member  of  our  committee  thus  describes  the  scheme  that  is  shown  in  Figures  40  and  41  . 

Arlington  Street  is  widened  from  Newbury,  on  the  south,  to  Marlborough,  on  the  north, 
into  a  square,  by  extending  the  street  surface  eastward  to  the  base  of  the  Washington  statue, 
and  westward  a  few  feet  beyond  the  present  building  line.  From  the  southern  end  of  the 
square  so  formed,  a  second  street,  the  same  width  as  Arlington  and  twenty  feet  further  to  the 
east,  is  carried  to  Boylston  Street  on  the  south,  and  to  Beacon  Street  on  the  north,  thus  leav- 
ing an  island  with  grass  and  trees  opposite  the  block  between  Boylston  and  Newbury  Streets, 
and  another  opposite  the  block  between  Marlborough  and  Beacon  Streets.  Northward,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  Beacon  Street,  an  opening  and  parkway  is  made,  reaching  to  the  Charles  River 
embankment,  of  sufficient  width  to  handsomely  connect  the  park  system  of  the  Common  and 
Public  Garden  with  the  parkway  along  the  river.  From  Boylston  Street,  opposite  the  axis  of 
the  square,  it  is  proposed  to  extend  Arlington  Street  on  to  the  southern  part  of  the  city.  The 
two  blocks  bounding  the  square  on  the  west  offer  building  sites  of  approximately  the  same  front 
as  that  of  the  Public  Library,  by  suppressing  the  alleyway  which  now  runs  through  to  Arlington 
Street.  Buildings  along  Commonwealth  Avenue  are  limited  by  law  to  a  height  of  seventy 
feet.  If  buildings  of  a  public  nature  were  erected  on  these  sites  facing  the  Arlington  Street 
square,  —  which  might  then  be  called,  by, virtue  of  the  statue  of  the  first  President,  which  would 
look  down  into  it,  "  Washington  Square,"  — they  might,  by  express  provision,  be  carried  to  a 
greater  height  than  the  buildings  along  the  avenue,  and  thus  gain  in  monumental  impressiveness. 
In  front  of  them,  on  the  axis  of  the  square,  would  be  placed  large  fountains,  and  monuments  at 
proper  scale  might  be  grouped  about  the  square,  as  around  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  in  Paris. 

Three  important  reasons  exist  for  this  improvement.  The  first  is  to  give  a  glimpse  of 
Charles  River  from  the  Public  Garden,  and  to  furnish  a  free  and  attractive  passage  for  the  sight- 
seer from  the  heart  of  the  city  to  its  riverway. 

The  second  reason  is  to  furnish  Commonwealth  Avenue  with  a  proper  termination.  The 
present  arrangement  is  lacking  in  dignity,  and  the  superb  effect  which  might  be  had  by  bringing 
the  equestrian  statue  of  Washington  into  an  effective  prominence  is  now  entirely  lost.  The 
presence  of  public  buildings  flanking  the  entrance  to  Commonwealth  Avenue  from  the  Garden, 
together  with  the  embellishments  to  be  placed  in  front  of  them,  would  greatly  enhance  the 
dignity  of  the  avenue,  and  the  result  would  be  a  public  square  which,  although  modest  in  dimen- 
sions when  compared  with  the  great  squares  of  Europe,  might  rival  them  in  beauty. 

The  third  reason  is  to  provide  a  place  for  the  marshalling  of  large  bodies  of  civilians  or 
soldiers  on  civic  occasions.  At  present,  most  of  the  processions  through  the  city  are  formed  in 
that  region,  and  this  work  would  be  greatly  facilitated  by  the  creation  of  the  proposed  square. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  this  improvement  in  the  main  involves  little 
expenditure  ami  interferes  in  no  important  respect  with  the  beauty  of  the  Garden,  nor  does  it 
displace  any  existing  monument. 


A  Suggestion  for  the  Extension  of  Arlington  Street  and   for  a  Public 

Building  Site  at  Castle  Square. 

The  following  description  will  explain  Figures  42  to  47  :  — 

The  extension  of  Arlington  Street,  both  towards  the  north  and  tin-  south,  has  often  been 
suggested,  and  is  a  simple,  obvious  and  desirable  improvement.  The  plan  herewith  presented 
shows  Arlington  Street  extended  northward  to  join  the  river  drive.     At  the  junction  with  this 


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drive  is  a  plaza,  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  a  subway  station  of  the  line  that  will  follow  the 
river  and  pierce  Beacon  Hill. 

Opposite  Commonwealth  Avenue  another  plaza  is  formed  by  the  omission  of  the  iron  fence 
against  which  Commonwealth  Avenue  now  abuts,  and  the  substitution  of  stone  balustrades  encir- 
cling the  statue  of  Washington.  From  the  terrace  thus  formed  there  are  openings  towards  the 
bridge  in  the  Public  Garden  and  steps  to  the  surrounding  paths.  By  such  simple  and  inex- 
pensive expedients  a  very  grand  and  suitable  termination  would  be  made  for  our  handsome 
avenue. 

The  extension  of  Arlington  Street  southward  from  Boylston  Street  is  blocked  by  existing 
old  houses  and  by  about  ten  feet  of  frontage  of  a  new  building.  If  Arlington  Street  is  extended 
through  these,  the  sides  of  those  estates  that  would  thus  face  Arlington  Street  extended  would 
become  as  good  as  the  frontages  on  Boylston  Street,  and  the  improvement  thus  effected  in  these 
estates  would  go  far  to  balance  the  cost. 

Beyond  this  obstacle  occur  the  Providence  passenger  and  freight  stations.  For  the  devel- 
opment of  these  properties  streets  are  inevitably  necessary,  and  none  could  be  better  than  this. 
Still  further  south  Ferdinand  Street  is  met.  The  buildings  on  the  west  of  this  street  — the 
Cadets'  Armory  and  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,  etc.  —  would  remain  as  now.  The 
gasometer  and  Swedish  Church  on  the  east  side  would  vanish,  but  beyond  this,  as  the  illustra- 
tions fully  show,  there  is  surprisingly  little  of  value  existing  on  the  west  side.  In  fact,  the 
existing  buildings  are  of  very  slight  value.  Through  this  neglected  neighborhood  Arlington 
Street  is  shown  on  the  plan  as  widening  in  a  park-like  manner  until,  on  reaching  Castle  Square, 
a  large  public  place  is  formed  at  little  expense  by  bridging  the  railroad  in  that  vicinity.  At 
this  point  over  the  railroad  the  land  is  high,  the  rise  being  gradual  from  Boylston  Street.  On 
this  stately  site  it  is  suggested  that  a  large  area  be  taken  for  a  public  building.  The  land 
lying  between  Castle,  Tremont,  Compton  and  Emerald  Streets  is  assessed  now  on  a  valuation  of 
$1,129,300,  and  a  smaller  lot  might  suffice.  It  is  close  to  several  subway  and  elevated  stations 
and  surface  routes.  It  is  on  land  and  surrounded  by  land  that  at  present  is  not  of  high  value, 
but  the  commercial  value  of  the  whole  region  would  be  greatly  raised  by  the  action  here  sug- 
gested. In  spite  of  the  depressed  condition  of  this  real  estate  the  site  really  is  very  central, 
being  easily  reached  from  all  parts  of  the  city,  and  the  plan  shows  how  a  slight  extension  of 
Arlington  Street  beyond  this  site  would  meet  the  junction  of  Dover  Street  and  Shawmut  Avenue, 
whence  the  road  to  South  Boston  and  Dorchester  is  open  by  way  of  Dover  Street. 

Two  very  similar  sites  exist  where  Dartmouth  Street  or  Berkeley  Street  strike  Tremont 
Street,  but  neither  of  these  bring  into  market,  as  this  scheme  does,  large  areas  of  unoccupied  ter- 
ritory, nor  has  either  of  these  sites  the  commanding  position  which  is  given  by  the  rise  of  the 
streets  to  cross  the  railroad  at  Castle  Square. 

As  a  scheme  for  opening  up  much  undeveloped  land  and  the  possible  creation  of  taxable 
property  around  a  new  civic  centre,  and  for  gaining  a  commanding  site  for  a  public  building  on 
land  that  is  comparatively  cheap,  but  which  is  close  to  other  populous  and  busy  centres,  this 
proposition  seems  worthy  of  consideration. 


Site  of  the  Old  Station  of  the  Boston  &  Providence  Railroad  Company. 

Many  different  studies  for  the  utilization  of  this  property  were  laid  before  this  committee, 
and  indeed  there  is  no  part  of  Boston  that  to-day  calls  more  loudly  for  study  and  intelligent 
improvement  than  these  acres  of  unimproved  land  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city.  None  of  the 
designs  thus  presented  seemed  to  us  fully  satisfactory.  In  general,  this  failure  resulted  from  the 
belief  held  by  each  designer  that  a  public  building,  such  as  a  city  hall,  should  occupy  so  large 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  17 

and  clear  and  prominent  a  site.  It,  however,  is  apparent  that  this  site  becomes  suitable  for  such 
an  important  building  as  a  city  hall  only  when  very  wide  openings  are  cut  through  the  block  on 
Boylston  Street  and  such  as  would  open  the  building  up  to  the  wide  foreground  of  the  Public 

Garden. 

In  fact,  not  only  should  there  be  easy  access  from  a  public  building  on  that  site  to  the 
Gardens,  but  to  open  up  the  station  property  even  for  business  purposes,  some  ample  openings  are 
needed  from  Boylston  Street  to  and  across  the  station  property 

At  present  there  are  no  thoroughfares  north  and  south  from  Berkeley  Street  to  Park 
Square.  The  railroad  property  and  all  the  city  towards  the  south  beyond  it  is  as  inaccessible  as  if 
it  were  far  distant  from  commercial  centres.  Hence  there  should  be  wide  and  spacious  streets 
running  south  from  Boylston  Street  at  least  as  often  as  at  Arlington  Street  and  Church  Street, 
even  though  to  make  them  would  sacrifice  valuable  property  on  Boylston  Street. 

The  plans  for  development  submitted  to  us  were  unsatisfactory,  probably  because  they 
were  ambitious  where  this  very  simple  though  somewhat  expensive  treatment  seems  to  be  the 
more  proper  solution. 

A  pamphlet  has  lately  been  circulated  in  Boston  which  gives  admirably  the  history  of  this 
at  present  unproductive  property.  All  may  not  agree  with  the  writer  in  seeing  a  real  estate 
speculation  by  the  railroad  company  in  this  idle  real  estate,  but  he  puts  the  case  so  clearly  that 
we  take  the  liberty  of  outlining  his  argument  here. 

He  calls  his  pamphlet  "  A  Blight  on  Boston."  The  tract  formerly  used  for  railroad  pur- 
poses by  the  Providence  Railroad  Company  covers  16.61  acres,  and  the  taxes  on  it  for  the  current 
year  are  $72,000.  During  the  seven  years  since  the  land  was  abandoned  for  railroad  purposes 
$400,000  has  been  paid  in  taxes,  and  the  income  from  the  property  during  this  time  must  have 
been  slight. 

Meanwhile  the  tide  of  business  has  surged  out  Boylston  Street  from  Park  Square  by  a 
block  120  feet  deep,  having  the  Public  Garden  on  one  side  and  the  abandoned  land  on  the  other. 

Accordingly,  at  Church  Street,  valuation  on  the  corners  of  Boylston  Street  has  advanced 
since  1896  from  $35  to  $48  and  from  $42  to  $85,  and  a  little  way  down  Church  Street  from  $20  to 
$35.  On  the  other  hand,  at  the  corner  of  Church  Street  and  Columbus  Avenue,  just  across  the 
station  site,  they  have  fallen  from  $14.25  to  $12.50,  and  from  $14  to  $13. 

At  the  corner  of  Boylston  and  Berkeley  Streets,  in  the  same  time,  the  valuation  has 
advanced  from  $17.50  to  $40. 

This  statement  of  the  case  indicates  clearly  how  seriously  this  vacant  land  prevents  the 
natural  development  of  the  city.  The  writer  further  shows  how  this  barrier  prevents  the  growth 
of  Tremont  and  Washington  and  other  streets  leading  to  the  South  End,  and  he  makes  it  evident 
that  the  city  generally  would  be  benefited  if  the  space  were  traversed  by  streets. 

None  of  this  tract  was  taken  by  eminent  domain.  All  was  bought  and  paid  for  by  the 
Providence  Railroad,  but  after  various  changes  the  care,  management  and  control  of  the  land 
became  absolute  in  the  New  Haven  Railroad  in  1904,  and  the  boundaries  remain  substantially 
the  same  as  they  were  when  the  land  was  abandoned  seven  years  ago. 

The  writer  of  the  pamphlet  argues  that  if  the  payment  of  the  taxes,  unbalanced  by  any 
returns,  appeared  as  a  diminution  of  the  dividend,  the  shareholders  would  at  once  object,  but 
that  as  the  expenditure  merges  in  the  total  of  "  fixed  charges,"  it  is  not  noticed.  He  says  that 
as  rates  are  raised  when  the  fixed  charges  are  increased,  and  as  the  public  pays  these  rates,  then 
it  is  the  public  that  is  paying  the  cost  of  carrying  this  vacant  land  and  not  the  stockholders  ;  or 
else  needed  repairs  are  deferred,  so  that  the  community  is  paying  for  inferior  service,  and  thus, 
in  either  case,  the  public  pays  the  cost,  and  the  railroad  carries  for  years  this  dead,  unproductive 
land  which  cannot  be  used  for  railroad  purposes,  and  which,  under  the  system  of  handling,  does 
not  earn  its  keep.     The  writer's  opinion  is  that  such  holding  of  vacant  land  to  the  detriment  of 


18  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

the  community  is  not  within  the  rights  and  privileges  granted  to  a  railroad,  or  within  the  duties 
a  railroad  assumes  towards  the  public. 

It  is  quite  out  of  our  province  to  determine  whether  this  view  is  correct,  but  all  will  find 
in  the  pamphlet  a  clear  statement  of  the  way  in  which  this  unoccupied  land  prevents  the  natural 
growth  of  the  city,  and,  without  criticizing  the  present  owners,  we  cordially  hope  that  the 
wasteful  conditions  may  be  soon  terminated. 


Improvement  of  Copley  Square. 

The  design  for  the  improvement  of  Copley  Square  shown  by  Figures  48  and  49  creates  four 
grass  plots  arranged  symmetrically  upon  the  axes  of  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  and  the  Public 
Library.  The  present  streets  form  the  outside  boundaries  of  this  plotted  area  and  two  diagonal 
avenues  cross  the  centre  of  the  square.  It  is  proposed  to  pave  this  centre  and  the  avenues  with 
granite  blocks  set  in  patterns.  The  grassed  areas,  planted  with  low  shrubs  and  trees  and  sur- 
rounded with  sidewalks,  are  to  be  decorated  with  curbs,  lamps  and  fountains. 

Provision  is  made  at  the  north  side  of  the  northerly  plot  for  possible  entrance  to  a  subway. 
The  object  of  this  plan  is  to  create  a  symmetrical  treatment  of  the  square,  control  the  direction  of 
traffic  on  its  surface  and  mitigate  the  possibilities  of  dust  and  the  radiated  heat  which  would 
result  if  the  surface  were  wholly  of  pavement. 

Another  suggestion  for  the  treatment  of  the  square  is  to  recognize  the  diagonal  of 
Huntington  Avenue  unchanged  and  to  break  the  larger  of  the  two  existing  triangular  plots  into 
two  portions,  one  of  which,  a  small  triangular  plot,  is  placed  upon  the  axis  of  the  Public  Library; 
the  other,  a  larger  plot  of  irregular  shape,  complements  by  its  curve  the  outline  of  the  property  of 
the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  opposite.     (See  Figure  49<7.) 

A  third  suggestion  is  to  pave  the  whole  square  with  blocks  of  granite  of  various  colorsi 
arranging  in  a  symmetrical  manner  "  islands,"  for  the  protection  of  pedestrians,  which  are  to  be 
made  decorative  with  fountains  and  lamps.  It  is  proposed  that  the  car  tracks  should  run  as  at 
present. 

Still  another  suggestion,  dependent  upon  the  extension  of  the  subway  to  the  square,  is  to 
remove  the  diagonal  run  of  car  tracks  and  place  in  the  centre,  within  a  decorated  enclosure,  a 
covered  entrance  to  the  subway,  the  square  to  be  paved  with  granite  blocks  as  previously 
suggested . 


The  Widening  and  Extension  of  Commercial  Street. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  there  is  need  for  a  direct  teaming  thoroughfare  across  the  old 
city.  Of  the  many  schemes  that  have  been  offered  at  different  times,  perhaps  that  of  extending 
Commercial  Street  is  the  best,  and  therefore  record  of  it  is  made  here.  This  involves  the  widen- 
ing of  Commercial  Street  between  State  Street  and  Clinton  Street  to  a  width  of  100  feet,  by 
taking  off  on  the  westerly  side  and  opening  up  a  new  thoroughfare  80  feet  wide  from  Clinton 
Street  in  a  direct  line  to  Keany  Square,  at  the  end  of  the  Charlestown  Bridge. 

One  hundred  and  thirty-three  estates  would  be  taken,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  which 
contain  about  211,000  square  feet,  the  assessed  values  of  which,  in  1903,  were  about  $2,450,000, 
or  an  average  of  $11.61  a  foot.  About  129,000  feet  would  be  required  for  the  street,  leaving 
82,000  feet  for  sale. 

The  total  length  of  the  new  street  would  be  2,425  feet,  including  an  area  of  194,000  square 
feet,  of  which  129,000  feet  would  be  taken  from  private  owners  and  the  balance  from  existing 


f  f ' 


\ 


FIGURES  48  and  49.      Design  for  the  Completion   of  Copley  Square. 


FIGURE  49  (fl).     Design  for  the  Completion  of  Copley  Square. 


•  CI  E-STlOA-fOF 



DOR p.!     ' 




FIGURE  50.     Plan  for  the   Improvement  of   Dorchester  Heights. 


Figure  51.      Plan  for  the   Improvement  of  Dorchester  Heights. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  19 

streets,  courts,  and  places.  From  Clinton  Street  to  State  Street  is  an  additional  distance  of  500 
feet,  and  there  would  be  four  estates  affected,  from  which  about  6,000  square  feet  would  be 
taken,  making  a  total  of  135,000  square  feet  taken  from  private  owners,  at  an  estimated  cost  of 
about  $2,600,000.  The  total  length  of  new  street  to  be  built  would  be  about  3,000  linear  feet, 
and  the  surface  to  he  covered  would  he  about  244, 000  square  feet.  The  total  estimated  cost  for 
the  land  and  the  construction  of  the  streets  would  be  about  #3,000,000. 

This  project  was  reported  U  the  Boston  Real  Estate  Kxchange  to  the  Associated   Board  of 
Trade,  and  received  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  Committee  on  Traffic  Congestion. 


Better  Connection  Between  Cambridge  and  Causeway  Streets. 

When  the  elevated  railway  is  connected  with  Cambridge  Bridge,  it  is  proposed  to  widen 
Cambridge  Street,  presumably  to  the  width  of  the  bridge,  105  feet,  up  to  and  beyond  the  entrance 
to  the  subway.  It  is  suggested  that  a  street  at  least  80  feet  wide  should  connect  Causeway  Street 
either  with  that  point  on  Cambridge  Street  where  the  subway  disappears  in  the  ground,  or  with 
the  corner  of  Charles  and  Cambridge  Streets,  where  the  elevated  road  will  still  be  overhead. 

The  present  approach  to  Causeway  Street  and  the  North  Station  from  this  direction  is 
circuitous  and  through  narrow  streets.  Land  and  buildings  in  the  neighborhood  are  not  of  great 
value,  and,  relative  to  its  utility,  the  expense  of  such  a  thoroughfare  would  not  be  great. 


The  Proposed  "Old  Colony  Avenue." 

A  thoroughfare  has  been  proposed  by  citizens  at  the  southern  part  of  Boston  which 
deserves  general  attention.  Dorchester  needs  an  entrance  into  Boston,  and  this  can  be  obtained 
without  great  expense  by  constructing  a  boulevard,  starting  on  Dorchester  Avenue,  at  the  end  of 
the  new  Cove  Street  bridge,  running  out  Dorchester  Avenue,  where  the  property  is  at  present  of 
small  value,  to  the  old  roadbed  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company,  which  is  owned  by  the  city, 
continuing  over  this  roadbed  to  the  Columbia  Road  bridge,  through  the  arch  of  this  bridge  and 
along  the  east  side  of  the  railroad  through  Harrison  Square  to  the  Neponset  River.  Such  an 
avenue  would  not  only  be  a  benefit  to  Dorchester,  but  would  give  the  business  and  pleasure 
traffic  of  the  South  Shore  a  much-needed  way  to  the  heart  of  the  city. 

A  petition  and  bill,  requesting  that  an  avenue  substantially  as  described  be  built  by  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  have  been  duly  presented  to  the  Legislature,  and  have  been 
referred  to  one  of  its  committees. 


Improvement  of  Dorchester  Heights. 

The  heights  where  Washington  planted  the  cannon  that  drove  the  British  army  from 
Boston  form  the  highest  and  most  conspicuous  site  in  South  Boston.  Once  a  large  reservoir  cov- 
ered the  eastern  half  of  the  top  of  the  hill.  This  was  removed,  and  on  the  low  site  thus  formed 
to  the  east  of  the  hill  the  South  Boston  High  School  has  been  built.  The  western  wall  of  the 
reservoir  still  is  left  as  a  retaining  wall  behind  the  school,  and  above  this  wall  is  a  beautiful 
park  with  fine  trees  and  having  an  extensive  prospect.  The  white  marble  tower  which  com- 
memorates the  evacuation  of  Boston  stands  on  this  height,  above  the  reservoir  wall  and  almost  on 
the  axis  of  the  school.  The  steep  space  between  the  school  and  the  tower  is  at  present  in  an 
unfinished  state. 


20  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

The  School  House  Commission  have  caused  a  plan  to  be  prepared  for  terracing  this  slope. 
The  old  reservoir  walls  would  be  utilized,  and,  at  slight  expense,  a  very  agreeable  background 
for  the  school  and  base  for  the  monument  would  be  formed.  Visitors  would  have  fine  prospects 
of  the  harbor  from  the  seats  and  paths  on  this  terrace.     (See  Figure  51.) 

Towards  the  west  a  mall  runs  from  the  monument  across  the  park  under  fine  elm  trees. 
The  suggestion  is  made  by  one  of  our  members  that  in  continuation  of  this  vista  Telegraph  Street 
be  widened  in  the  manner  shown  in  Figure  50.  This  would  give  a  splendid  approach  to  this 
exceptionally  fine  and  historical  site  and  would  connect  it  with  and  make  it  the  starting  point 
of  the  "  Inner  Boulevard,"  elsewhere  suggested  in  this  report. 


Communication   by   Inland   Waterways. 

Such  has  been  the  development  of  the  railroad  system  in  America  that  in  recent  days  com- 
mercial activity  on  canals  or  rivers  has  seemed  a  thing  of  the  past,  suited,  perhaps,  to  the  needs 
of  China  or  Holland,  but  not  to  those  of  an  up-to-date  and  active  community.  When  the  land 
was  first  covered  with  a  network  of  railways,  canals  naturally  received  less  attention  than  trans- 
portation by  rail.  The  canals  also  were  small  and  the  tendencies  of  the  railroad  companies  was 
to  suppress  them.  Hence,  it  is  a  generally  accepted  idea  that  railroads  have  superseded  inland 
waterways  and  that  the  latter  will  never  again  be  useful  to  commerce. 

The  immense  trade  which  passes  in  this  present  day  through  the  great  lakes  on  our  north- 
ern border  would  tend  to  disprove  this  proposition,  were  it  not  of  a  character  and  conducted  at  a 
scale  that  resembles  and  almost  surpasses  that  on  the  ocean.  There  are,  however,  signs  that 
we  have  not  finally  disposed  of  the  subject  of  canals.  Even  in  our  own  country  we  have 
seen  within  a  few  weeks  a  convention  assembling  in  Washington  to  discuss  the  improvement,  not 
only  of  our  harbors  but  of  our  rivers,  and  to  urge  large  annual  appropriations  by  Congress  for  this 
purpose  ;  and  one  of  the  schemes  most  prominently  set  forward  for  such  assistance  was  a  better 
water  communication  between  Take  Michigan  and  the  Mississippi  River.  The  State  of  New 
York  is  entering  upon  a  vast  scheme  for  enlarging  and  deepening  the  Erie  Canal.  An  Army 
Board  has  just  reported  on  a  plan  to  improve  navigation  on  the  Connecticut  River  between  Spring- 
field and  Hartford,  by  dredging  the  river  and  using  a  portion  of  the  existing  canal  above  Windsor 
Locks.  The  canal  across  Cape  Cod  promises  to  be  an  accomplished  fact  within  a  few  years,  as 
does  also  the  great  canal  at  Panama.  The  canals  at  Cape  Cod  and  Panama  merely  shorten  sea 
routes  ;  the  others  feed  and  develop  inland  commerce.  But  this  general  activity  shows  that  the 
carriage  of  goods  by  canals  may  be  still  a  subject  of  public  interest. 

The  importance  to  commerce  of  inland  waterways  has  nowhere  been  recognized  so  clearly, 
and  nowhere  has  it  led  to  so  much  energetic  construction,  as  in  the  German  Empire,  and  Mr. 
Elzbacher,  in  his  book  "  Modern  Germain,"  thus  sums  up  the  advantages  which  recommended 
canals  to  Germans. 

The  freight  car  itself,  reckoning  per  ton  of  capacity,  is  five  times  more  costly  than  the 
same  room  in  a  barge.  It  takes  four  to  six  times  more  energy  to  haul  goods  by  rail  than  on 
water,  and  thirty  to  fifty  times  more  to  haul  it  on  a  road,  and  hence,  "the  propulsion  by 
water,  whether  the  motive  power  be  horse  traction,  steam  or  electricity,  is  only  a  fraction  of  the 
cost  arising  from  propulsion  by  rail."  The  canal  itself  costs  less  than  the  railroad  and  can  carry 
more  traffic.  Hence,  owing  to  its  very  nature,  land  transports  cannot  possibly  compete  with 
properly  equipped  waterways.  Besides,  canals  give  not  only  cheap  transport  but  an  alternative 
transport  system  to  compete  with  railways,  and  which  is  entirely  satisfactory  for  freight  that 
need  not  be  delivered  speedily,  such  as  coal,  lumber,  etc. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  21 

Germany's  industrial  success  is  doubtless  due,  to  a  I  u  ;e  extent,  to  tin    assist  eived 

from  her  waterways.     In  L 902,  notwithstanding  the  marvellous  growth  of   tl  hanl 

marine,  its  inland  shipping   has  grown  to  be    L50  per  cent   larger  than  the-  tonnage  of  its 
shipping,  and  this  increase  is,  to  a  -  free,  in  vessels  of  large  size-.     The  average  size  is 

from  2()0  to  400  tons  on  the-  minor  waterways;  on  the-  Elbe  1,000  tons  and  upwards  ;  and  on  the- 
Rhine-  barges  of  2,000  to  2,350  terns  ma\  b<  seen.  The  Rhine-  Elbe  Canal,  the-  Danube  Oder 
Canal    and  the  Danube  Elbe  Canal  are-   enterprises    which  would    require  an   outlay   of  about 

$50,000,000  each. 

The  Rhine-  has  been  changed  from  a  tourists'  river  to  a  channel  of  comn -^,000,000 

having  been  spent  on  it  during  the-  last  twenty  years;  and  Cologne,  which  is  150  miles  from 
the  sea,  now  runs  thirty-four  steamers  to  England,  Russia  and  Scandinavia  ;  and  on  the  canals 
and  rivers  of  Germany  commercial  and  industrial  activity  is  developing  with  marvellous  rapidity. 

In  France  inland  commerce  by  canals  has  always  held  a  place  of  importance.  Lngland 
was  once  interlaced  with  canals,  hut  the  building  of  them  ceased  with  the  arrival  of  railroads  in 
1830,  and  by  degrees  the  railroads  gained  control  of  them  and  made  them  harmless  rivals.  They 
were  built  for  small  barges,  and  to-day  economy  is  found  in  moving  large  barges.  Now,  how- 
ever, that  English  railways  are  overloaded  with  freight,  a  new  interest  is  aroused  lately  in 
English  canals,  and  a  Commission  is  considering  the  enlargement  and  development  of  them 
on  lines  similar  to  those  adopted  in  Germany. 

It  is  strange  that  railroads  during  the-se  latter  years  have  so  entirely  absorbed  the  attention 
of  a  country  traversed  by  rivers  like  the  Mississippi,  the  Missouri,  Ohio,  Hudson,  Connecticut, 
Merrimac,  etc.  When  the  Mississippi  was  full  of  shoals  and  snags  and  without  lighthouses,  it 
carried  great  freights.  Now,  although  it  is  cleared  and  lighted,  it  finds  profit  only  in  freighting 
with  the  current,  and  return  cargoes  are  difficult  to  obtain.  During  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  this 
great  river  was  a  most  useful  channel  and  carried  northern  gunboats  to  great  victories.  During 
this  war,  in  June,  1863,  a  great  national  Ship  Canal  Convention  was  held  in  Chicago  expressly 
to  discuss  this  subject.  It  then  was  a  question  of  uniting  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  with  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  by  waterways  navigable  for  gunboats.  The  objects  in  view  were  to  augment  national 
wealth,  to  attract  population,  to  facilitate  transportation,  and  for  military  defence  in  any  naval 
contest  on  the  Lakes.  There  had  recently  been  disagreement  with  Great  Britain,  and  it  was 
feared  that  she  might  place  gunboats  on  the  Takes  through  the  Welland  Canal,  though  we  had  no 
such  facilities,  It  was  proposed  to  open  the  Mississippi,  connect  that  river  and  Lake  Michigan 
by  the  Illinois  River  and  a  canal,  and  finally  increase  the  size  of  the  Erie  Canal  and  its  locks. 

In  our  day  there  seems  to  be  a  possibility  of  these  schemes  being  carried  to  conclusion,  for 
the  Erie  Canal  is  definitely  to  be  enlarged,  and  the  Illinois  River  canal  is  strongly  urged.  When 
the  circuit  is  complete  it  may  become  as  profitable  to  carry  freights  up  as  down  the  Mississippi, 
and  there  will  be  something  gratifying  to  national  pride  if  it  ever  does  become  possible  to  thus 
carry  cargoes  without  trans-shipment  from  Xew  Orleans  through  the  interior  of  the  continent 
and  on  to  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

The  opinion  that  there  is  a  future  for  such  American  inland  waterways  is  shared  by  many 
people.  President  Roosevelt  says  "  one  of  the  effective  methods  of  affecting  railway  rates  is  to 
provide  for  a  proper  system  of  water  transportation,"  and  Mr.  James  J.  Hill  says,  "There-  has 
been  no  subject  before  Congress  in  twenty  years  which  interests  so  many  people-  and  will  prove- 
so  great  a  benefit  to  the  entire  basin  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers  as  a  fifteen  foot 
channel  or  canal  from  St.  Louis  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico." 

Massachusetts  has  had  many  dreams  of  commerce  by  water  through  the  interior  of  the 
State.     The  canal  which  united  Boston  Harbor  with  the  Merrimac  River  at  a  point  near  where 
Lowell  now  stands  was  one  of  the  earliest  built  in  the  country.     It  brought  freight  and  passeni 
from  New  Hampshire,  and  logs  from  the  forests  floated  down   its  waters  to  Boston.     The  same 


22  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

Loammi  Baldwin  who  had  a  great  share  in  that  undertaking  also  assisted  in  studies  for  others  in 
this  neighborhood.  To  connect  Boston  with  the  Connecticut  was  one  end  sought,  and  in  1826 
elaborate  reports  were  made  to  the  Legislature,  outlining  in  detail  the  different  routes  by  which 
this  could  be  accomplished  and  how  the  necessary  reservoirs  of  water  might  be  obtained.  From 
Springfield  it  was  intended  that  commerce  should  go  down  the  Connecticut  and  thence  to  New 
York.  These  reports,  however,  were  still  further  extended,  and  considered  the  prolongation  of 
the  canal  westward  from  the  Connecticut  to  Albany  and  the  Erie  Canal  passing  under  the  Hoosac 
Mountain  by  a  tunnel.  It  is  interesting  to  read  in  these  reports  and  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
day  the  statistics  of  the  amount  of  shipping  then  taking  the  long  journey  by  sea  from  Boston  to 
Albany,  which  would  have  been  superseded  by  this  canal. 

This  review  of  what  is  actually  doing  abroad  and  of  what  has  in  the  past  been  dreamed  of 
here  makes  one  consider  whether  there  is  not  a  lesson  here  set  for  Boston.  It  is  often  said  that 
now  that  Boston  has  no  communication  to  the  West  that  is  controlled  in  her  interest,  that  she 
is  out  of  the  race  and  bound  to  decline.  It  is  said  she  is  at  a  "  dead  end  "  of  the  country.  In 
the  days  of  the  Embargo,  Boston,  once  a  seaport,  suddenly  became  a  manufacturing  centre,  to 
her  great  material  advantage.  After  the  Rebellion  another  course  was  adopted,  when  prohibitive 
laws  continued  the  annihilation  of  Boston  foreign  shipping  that  had  been  begun  by  the  Alabama. 
Boston  then  invested  her  resources  in  western  lands  and  railroads.  This  benefited  individuals, 
but  resulted  in  no  permanent  local  advantage  to  Boston.  Possibly  the  course  before  Boston  now 
is  to  develop  to  the  utmost  her  own  resources.  Perhaps  she  is  in  the  very  same  position  as  those 
European  cities  which  find  that  the  only  way  to  maintain  and  increase  their  commerce  is  to  offer  the 
greatest  facilities  and  to  see  that  lines  of  cheap  transportation  radiate  from  them  in  every  direction. 

It  appears  that  the  Cape  Cod  Canal  is  now  really  to  be  built.  That  will  be  a  great  thing 
for  Boston.  It  is  an  agreeable  thought  that  a  night  boat  from  Boston  to  New  York  may  take  the 
place  of  a  night  train,  and  if  the  fogs  and  currents  off  Cape  Cod  are  a  cause  of  dread  to  the 
summer  yachtsman,  we  can  imagine  what  it  will  be  for  coasters  to  escape  the  winter  passage 
through  them.  But,  after  all,  this  service  is  only  to  shorten  the  distance  between  Boston  Bay 
and  the  waters  south  of  the  Cape.  Another  enterprise  which  would  encounter  few  natural 
obstacles  in  its  construction,  and  which  is  at  times  brought  before  our  Legislature,  the  Taunton 
and  Fore  River  Canal,  would  answer  an  entirely  different  purpose.  It  would  not  serve  great 
ships,  but  tows  and  barges,  propelled  perhaps  by  electricity,  would  enter  it,  and  coal  and  supplies 
would  be  carried  on  it  without  breaking  bulk  from  the  original  port  to  Boston,  passing  through 
an  interior  country,  where  now,  without  these  aids,  exists  a  prosperous  manufacturing  region, 
and  which  might  become  one  continuous  manufacturing  town,  all  tributary  for  its  metropolitan 
life  to  Boston. 

Many  of  our  citizens  live  in  summer  on  the  shores  of  Salem  Bay  and  see  numberless  tows, 
carrying  thousands  of  tons  of  coal,  constantly  pass  to  Salem.  There  the  coal  is  dumped  in  great 
piles  on  the  ground.  Thence  it  is  transferred  to  cars  and  pays  tribute  to  the  Boston  &  Maine 
Railroad  before  it  is  landed  at  the  boilers  in  Lowell  or  Lawrence.  Many  must  wonder  at  this 
costly  and  primitive  method  of  attaining  an  end.  If  we  were  in  Germany  surely  the  Merrimac 
River  would  long  ago  in  some  way  have  been  availed  of  to  carry  not  only  coal  but  other  supplies 
to  these  towns  and  all  the  district  around  them. 

The  time  may  come  when  the  surveys  made  in  1826  for  the  State  Commissioners  may 
prove  useful,  and  Boston  may  stretch  other  waterways  up  the  Charles  and  through  the  interior 
of  the  State  to  join  those  even  now  projected  at  the  Connecticut.  Perhaps  we  shall  realize 
sooner  than  we  now  anticipate  that  inland  waterways  will  help  to  develop  business  throughout 
the  country  around  Boston  and  that  such  development  is  our  present  opportunity. 

In  short,  it  is,  we  think,  apparent  that  this  subject  is  worthy  of  consideration  by  all  those 
who  want  to  see  the  country  around  Boston  prosper,  for  this  would  mean  prosperity  to  Boston  itself. 


Report  on  Municipal  [mprovement.  23 


The  [mprovement  of  the  Port  of  Boston. 

This  proposed  improvement  is  thus  described  and  it  is  also  explained  by  the  illustrations 
Figures  52  to  64  :  — 

It  may  seem  extravagant  to  say  that  Boston  has  it  in  its  power  to  make  itself  the  most 
convenient  and  best  equipped  seaport  in  the  world  ;  but  it  is  believed  that  an  examination  of 
the  conditions  will  not  only  sustain  this  claim,  but  will  show  that  it  can  now  be  made  so  with- 
out any  expense  whatever  to  the  city  or  .State. 

First,  however,  we  must  consider  what  constitutes  a  great  modern  seaport.  Every  one 
knows  what  the  Americans  have  done  for  economical  and  efficient  land  transportation.  With 
their  hundred-ton  locomotives,  their  trains  half  a  mile  long,  and  their  freight  cars  of  forty  or  fifty 
tons  capacity,  they  can  convey  freight  by  land  more  cheaply  than  it  is  conveyed  anywhere  else  in 
the  world.  Within  a  few  years,  competition  has  produced  a  similar  development  in  ocean  com- 
merce, cost  of  transportation  being  constantly  reduced  by  increasing  the  size  and  capacity  of 
steamers.  The  two  Cunard  steamers  just  launched  are  each  seven  hundred  and  ninety  feet  long  ; 
a  Hamburg  liner  has  just  been  contracted  for,  to  be  eight  hundred  feet  long  ;  and  naval  engineers 
predict  that  it  will  not  be  many  years  before  steamers  a  thousand  feet  long  will  be  required  to 
meet  the  demands  of  shippers  ;  and  they  tell  us  that  to  the  seaports  which  can  best  accommodate 
such  vessels  will  belong  the  future  commerce  of  the  world. 

What,  then,  is  the  accommodation  that  such  ships  need  ?  The  two  new  Cunarders  are  each 
of  forty  thousand  tons  measurement,  and  have,  presumably,  a  cargo  capacity  somewhat  greater. 
It  is  obvious  that  a  steamer  of  forty  thousand  tons  capacity  cannot  be  economically  loaded  and 
unloaded  by  means  of  express  wagons.  What  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  profitable  operation 
of  such  vessels  is  that  trains  of  freight  cars  shall  bring  to  their  side  the  goods  which  they  are  to 
transport  ;  and,  as  a  freight  train  rarely  carries  more  than  a  thousand  tons,  facilities  must  lie 
provided  beside  each  steamer  for  delivering  in  rapid  succession  the  forty  or  fifty  train-loads  com- 
prising its  full  cargo.  In  this  country  hardly  anything  has  yet  been  done  to  meet  this  new  com- 
mercial necessity.  The  Reading  Terminals  in  Philadelphia  (Fig.  53),  where  coal  cars  are  run 
alongside  the  barges,  afford  economical  loading  on  a  very  small  scale,  and  the  connection  of 
railroad  tracks  and  steamers  at  Hoboken  is  tolerably  close  ;  but  in  neither  case  is  the  system 
adequate  to  modern  requirements,  and  it  is  necessary  to  look  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  for 
examples  of  what  a  seaport  must  be  if  it  is  to  secure  and  retain  the  commerce  of  the  future. 

The  two  great  rival  seaports  on  the  continent  of  Europe  are  Antwerp  and  Hamburg.  For 
many  years  Hamburg  has  had  a  row  of  warehouses  (Fig.  52)  some  two  miles  long,  mostly  bor- 
dering the  two  sides  of  an  inlet  from  the  River  Elbe,  each  line  of  warehouses  being  served  by  two 
railroad  tracks  (Fig.  54),  one  track  running  between  the  buildings  and  the  water's  edge,  and  the 
other  on  the  land  side  of  the  buildings.  This  system  was  almost  exactly  duplicated  in  extent  at 
Antwerp  by  a  long  row  of  warehouses,  also  supplied  with  railroad  tracks,  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  Scheldt  (Fig.  55).  The  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  and  the  Alpine  tunnels,  some  twenty-five 
years  ago,  threw  upon  the  railroads  of  Central  Europe  an  immense  Oriental  traffic,  passing  mostly 
through  Genoa  or  Marseilles,  which  had  formerly  gone  by  sea  to  England  and  northern  ports  ; 
and  Antwerp,  which  is  directly  on  the  main  route  of  this  traffic  (Fig.  57),  prepared  to  develop  her 
commerce  at  the  expense  of  her  rival,  Hamburg,  which  lies  under  the  disadvantage  of  being  three 
hundred  miles  to  the  east  of  the  great  central  stream  of  trade.  For  this  purpose  two  additional 
miles  of  quays  and  warehouses  were  built  along  the  Scheldt  (Fig.  56),  equipped  with  railroad 
tracks  like  the  earlier  ones;  and,  in  imitation  of  the  docks  of  London,  then  incomparably  the 
greatest  commercial  city  in  the  world,  immense  basins  were  excavated  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  town,  and  surrounded  with  warehouses  and  railroad  tracks,  connected  with  all  the  railroads 


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FIGURE  53.     Plan  of  Reading   Coal  Terminals.   Philadelphia. 


T.M.   Clark 


FlOURE  54.      Plan  of  the    Railroad   Harbor  of  Hamburg  before  1880. 


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lir.rRK  57.      Map  of  Central    Europe. 


CITY  Of         HAMBUPO 


f  ft.  V,i  \u  1j 


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T/IC>p-»  [ 


Figure  5.S.      Plan  of  Site  of  New  Harbor  of  Hamburg.     Before  Improvement. 


CITY         OF         HAMBURG 


•>  ''"  «*  "f-  '|""« 


FrGURK,  59.      Plan  of  New   Harbor  of  Hamburg.     Present   Condition. 


Figure  60.     Plan  of  Land  taken  for  New  Harbor  of  Antwerp. 


CI  TV     Of 


Figure  61.     New  Harbor  of  Antwerp,  now  under  construction.     (From  Official  Plan.) 


24  Boston  Society  ok  Architects. 

entering  the  city.  These  improvements  were  well-timed.  Before  they  were  completed,  two  out 
of  the  three  railroads  connected  with  the  port  were  loading,  on  an  average,  five  thousand  freight 
cars  a  day. 

Meanwhile,  Hamburg,  fully  aware  of  its  danger,  and  of  the  movements  of  its  rival,  had  not 
been  idle.  It  would  not  have  been  difficult  to  extend  its  quays,  or  to  build  basins,  as  was  done  at 
Antwerp,  but  the  merchants  reasoned  that  railroads  parallel  with  a  very  long  water  front,  where 
tracks  must  be  multiplied  to  give  trains  room  to  pass,  or  bent  around  a  system  of  basins,  are 
operated  at  a  disadvantage,  and  that  the  best  and  simplest  arrangement  in  the  end,  although 
perhaps  the  most  expensive  at  the  outset,  was  to  form  a  cluster  of  long  piers,  projecting  into  the 
water,  past  the  head  of  which  as  many  main  tracks  could  be  run  as  might  be  required,  each  pier 
having  such  tracks  as  it  needed  for  its  own  use,  together  with  the  necessary  warehouses  for 
receiving  goods  awaiting  shipment  or  sale.  As  the  Elbe  is  far  too  narrow  to  allow  such  piers  to 
project  into  the  stream,  a  tract  of  some  twelve  hundred  acres  of  cheap,  marshy  land  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  (Fig.  58)  was  purchased,  docks  were  excavated,  the  old  quays  remodelled  and 
extended,  and  a  new  harbor  formed,  containing  eleven  piers,  averaging  about  two  thirds  of  a  mile 
in  length  (Fig.  59),  with  docks  between ,  so  as  to  bring  railroads  and  ships  together  with  the  least 
possible  hindrance  or  interference.  One  hundred  and  eighteen  warehouses  were  built  on  the 
piers,  and  tracks  laid,  all  connecting  with  what  was  then  the  only  railway  entering  the  city,  and 
connected  with  each  other,  so  that  any  train  or  car  could,  without  dela)'  or  interference  with 
others,  be  placed  alongside  a  steamer  or  warehouse  at  any  part  of  any  pier  ;  while  stationary  and 
travelling  cranes,  both  steam  and  electric,  were  provided  for  loading  and  unloading  ships  and 
cars  quickly  and  economically.  On  these  works  the  city  of  Hamburg  spent,  in  eighteen  years, 
$49,600,000.  Never  was  money  better  invested.  The  economy  and  efficiency  of  the  system  of 
transfer  between  land  and  water  transportation  attracted  so  much  business  that,  instead  of  the 
one  railroad  which  entered  the  city  when  operations  began,  there  were  six  before  they  were  com- 
pleted, all  connecting  with  the  new  docks,  and  two  more  have  recently  secured  locations;  while 
traffic  by  water  has  increased  so  rapidly  that  the  city,  from  the  fifth  in  the  world  in  commercial 
importance,  ranking  after  London,  Liverpool,  Glasgow  and  New  York,  is  now  by  far  the  first, 
its  commerce,  in  1904,  exceeding  by  about  one  fourth  that  of  London  itself  ;  while  its  population, 
in  twenty-two  years,  nearly  tripled,  rising  from  about  275,000  in  1882,  when  the  dock  scheme 
was  adopted,  to  772,852  by  the  census  of  1904.* 

While  the  Hamburg  works  were  in  progress,  and  before  the  new  system  had  been  tested  by 
experience,  Antwerp,  wishing  to  keep  up  with  its  rival,  but  doubting  the  value  of  the  new  plan, 
built,  at  great  expense,  three  new  basins,  moving  the  city  fortifications  outward  nearly  a  mile  to 
make  room  for  them  ;  but  the  demonstration  of  the  enormous  advantage  of  the  "  perpendicular 


*  To  appreciate  the  energy  and  public  spirit  displayed  by  the  people  of  Hamburg;  in  the  remodelling  of  their 
harbor  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  little  city,  then  of  only  275,000  inhabitants,  planned  and  carried  out  the 
whole  work  itself,  practically  without  assistance  ;  for,  although  the  German  Imperial  Government  paid  to  Ham- 
burg, while  the  works  were  in  progress,  forty  million  marks,  or  less  than  tea  million  dollars,  this  was  not  pre- 
tended to  be  a  contribution  toward  the  cost  of  the  docks,  but  was  paid  as  compensation  for  the  abandonment  of 
the  freedom  from  customs  duties,  which,  until  that  time,  the  whole  territory  of  Hamburg  had  enjoyed.  Although 
free  port  privileges  were  reserved  to  the  new  docks,  with  burdensome  conditions,  all  the  inhabited  portion  of 
Hamburg  and  its  suburbs  passed  under  the  German  tariff  system,  and  the  citizens  thenceforth,  instead  of  import- 
ing goods  and  raw  materials  free,  were  obliged  to  pay  the  heavy  German  duties.  Supposing  the  average  popula- 
tion since  Oct.  15,  1888,  when  the  change  went  into  effect,  to  have  been  500,000,  and  each  inhabitant  to  consume 
annually  twenty-five  dollars'  worth  of  dutiable  goods,  on  which  the  German  duties  would  average  not  less  than 
25  per  cent,  the  citizens  have  in  eighteen  years  repaid  the  German  Government  its  outlay  six  times  over  ;  and 
now,  with  a  population  of  S00,000,  are  paying  back  the  whole  amount  every  two  years.  That  is  all  that  the 
Imperial  Government  has  ever  done  for  Hamburg,  and  its  citizens  would  be  nearly  sixty  million  dollars  in  pocket 
if  it  had  never  done  anything  for  them. 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  25 

pier"  plan,  which  followed  the  completion  of  the  new  Hamburg  harbor,  showed  that  if  Antwerp 
wished  to  keep  its  commerce  it  must  remodel  its  port  without  delay  on  the  same  system.  To  this 
end,  about  a  year  ago,  an  appropriation  of  fifty-three  million  dollars  was  made  by  the  Belgian 
Government,  and  eight  thousand  acres  of  suburban  land  taken  (Fig.  60),  in  which  a  new  harbor 
is  now  in  process  of  construction  (Fig.  61),  with  perpendicular  piers,  tracks,  and  warehouses, 
substantially  similar  to  those  at  Hamburg,  although  the  piers  are  more  regularly  laid  out  and  con- 
siderably longer,  experience  at  Hamburg  having  shown  this  to  be  desirable.  The  scheme  also 
involves  changing  the  course  of  the  river,  to  make  access  to  the  new  harbor  safer  and  more 
direct,  and  interposing  locks  to  counteract  the  effect  of  the  tides,  which  rise  at  Antwerp  about 
fourteen  feet.  All  these  works  will  occupy  less  than  half  the  area  taken,  but  it  is  the  intention  of 
the  government  to  lay  out  the  remainder  in  city  lots,  and  sell  it,  in  the  expectation  that  the  popu- 
lation of  the  district  will  increase  so  rapidly  through  the  commercial  development  due  to  the  new 
dock  system,  that  the  profit  on  the  sale  of  the  neighboring  land  will  repay  the  whole  cost  of  the 
undertaking. 

The  nature  of  the  combination  of  docks  and  railways  demanded  by  modern  intensive  com- 
merce is  already  shown  so  clearly  by  these  examples  that  England,  afraid  of  losing  her  commercial 
rank,  is  hastening  to  follow  them.  Liverpool  is  said  to  be  engaged  on  harbor  improvements 
which  will  cost  sixty  million  dollars,  and  London  has  very  recently  appointed  a  commission  to 
consider  the  radical  remodelling  of  its  entire  dock  system.  This  country  should  not  be  left 
behind.  Philadelphia,  not  long  ago,  made  some  official  study  of  the  subject,  but  the  conditions 
in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  are  far  less  favorable  than  those  existing  in  Boston  for  harbor 
development  in  the  modern  sense.  It  has  been  shown  that  an  indispensable  requisite  of  a  port  to 
be  used  with  advantage  by  large  modern  steamers  is  that  the  piers  shall  be  long  enough  for  entire 
freight  trains  to  be  moved  about  on  them.  Three  quarters  of  a  mile  is  considered  necessary  for 
this  purpose  at  Antwerp,  and  our  longer  and  heavier  freight  trains  would  require  more,  rather 
than  less,  than  this  ;  yet  a  pier  of  this  length  would  reach  entirely  across  the  Hudson  River,  the 
East  River  or  the  Delaware.  Anything  like  a  modern  pier  system  of  the  first  class  is,  therefore, 
impracticable  for  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Brooklyn,  Jersey  City  or  Hoboken,  while  it  can 
easily  be  formed,  and  under  the  most  advantageous  circumstances,  in  Boston.  The  chart  of 
Boston  shows  (Fig.  62),  at  a  short  distance  from  the  South  Terminal,  a  sheet  of  water, 
containing  some  fifteen  hundred  acres,  called  the  Old  Harbor,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
Strand  way,  on  the  north  by  South  Boston,  and  on  the  south  by  the  peninsula  of  the  Calf  Pasture, 
and  sheltered  to  the  east  by  Thompson's  Island.  The  water  in  this  Old  Harbor  averages  about 
six  feet  in  depth  at  low  tide,  except  at  its  eastern  edge,  where  there  is  a  channel  about  fifteen 
hundred  feet  wide  and  from  sixteen  to  forty-seven  feet  deep  at  low  tide,  kept  clear  by  the  current 
of  the  Neponset  River,  and  opening  almost  in  a  straight  line  into  President  Roads,  the  principal 
entrance  into  the  inner  harbor.  The  main  tracks  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  now  run  for  some 
distance  along  the  shore  of  the  Old  Harbor.  It  is  proposed  to  fill  along  the  shore  to  a  regular 
curve,  about  five  hundred  feet  outside  the  Strandway,  so  as  to  give  room  for  a  sufficient  number 
of  main  tracks,  and  to  build  out  from  this  curved  shore  line  nine  piers  (Fig.  63),  averaging  about 
a  mile  in  length,  extending  to  the  present  deep-water  channel.  These  piers  are  three  hundred 
feet  wide,  and  the  docks  between  are  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide.  The  piers  would  be 
built  by  the  modern  method  of  driving  concrete  piles  around  the  edges,  and  filling  the  space  with 
sand  and  other  material  dredged  by  pumping  from  the  docks  between  and  from  the  shallower 
portions  of  the  main  channel,  excavating  all  to  a  uniform  depth  of  forty  feet.  On  each  pier 
would  be  built  two  rows  of  warehouses  (Fig.  64),  with  four  railroad  tracks,  all  frequently  con- 
nected, with  elevated  tracks  over,  on  which  to  run  travelling  steam  or  electric  cranes.  The 
warehouses  would  be  uniformly  fifty  feet  wide,  averaging  about  four  hundred  feet  long,  mostly 
four  stories  high,  and  all  absolutely  fireproof,  of  brick  and  concrete,  with  wire-glass  windows  in 


Figure  62.     Latest  Official  Chart  of   Boston  and  its  Harbor. 


Figure  63.     Plan  of  Proposed   New  Docks,  Showing  their  Relation  to 
the  Surrounding  Portions  of  Boston. 


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26  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

metal  frames.  The  Old  Colony  tracks  already  connect  with  all  the  railroads  entering  the  South 
Terminal,  and  by  a  single  short  bridge  across  the  Charles  River,  from  Union  Market  Station  on 
the  Fitchburg  division  of  the  Boston  &  Maine  to  Faneuil  Station  on  the  Albany  road,  all  the 
remaining  railroads  entering  the  city  could  also  be  connected  with  the  new  docks,  so  that  a 
consignment  of  cotton,  grain,  iron  or  manufactured  goods  from  any  railroad  station  in  the  United 
States,  Canada  or  Mexico  could  be  placed,  without  teaming  or  transfer  of  any  kind,  alongside 
any  steamer  for  shipment  or  any  warehouse  for  storage,  at  any  part  of  any  pier  ;  while,  by  means 
of  the  travelling  overhead  cranes,  single  packages  could  be  transferred  directly  between  any 
ships,  cars  or  warehouses  at  any  part  of  the  clock  system.  There  would  also  be  ample  space  for 
the  circulation  of  wagons,  for  local  use,  between  the  tracks  in  the  middle  of  the  piers,  within  easy 
reach  of  the  electric  cranes,  while  passengers  from  the  regular  liners  would  have  rooms  fitted  up 
for  their  accommodation  on  the  flat  roofs  of  the  warehouses,  where  their  baggage  could  be  exam- 
ined, and  from  which,  by  means  of  bridges  and  elevators,  or  stairs,  they  and  their  effects  could 
be  transferred  directly  to  carriages  or  to  railroad  cars  for  any  destination,  without  coming  into 
contact  with  the  freight  traffic  below.  The  width  of  the  docks  between  the  piers  is  sufficient  to 
allow  a  row  of  from  seven  to  ten  steamers  of  the  largest  size  to  lie  at  each  side  of  every  pier, 
leaving  ample  space  between  for  other  steamers  of  the  same  sort  to  go  in  or  out,  and  pass  each 
other,  even  with  tug-boats  alongside,  although  the  docks  and  the  main  channel  are  so  wide  and 
convenient  that  steamers  of  any  size  could  easily  reach  and  leave  their  berths  under  their  own 
steam,  without  requiring  the  sen-ices  of  tugs. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  harbor  proposed,  while  possessing  all  the  advantages  of  the 
new  ports  of  Hamburg  and  Antwerp,  has  others  of  its  own.  Hamburg  is  separated  from  the 
ocean  by  ninety-three  miles  of  such  difficult  river  navigation  that  ships  are  required  to  take  three 
pilots  between  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe  and  their  docks  ;  and  the  new  harbor  at  Antwerp  can  be 
entered  only  through  locks ;  while  the  new  Boston  docks  almost  adjoin  the  open  sea ;  so 
that  if  the  new  port  of  Antwerp  is  to  be,  as  the  King  of  Belgium  promises,  the  most  convenient 
and  best  equipped  in  the  world,  that  of  Boston,  when  completed,  will  far  surpass  it  in  these 
respects. 

But  there  is  another  element  in  the  plan  here  proposed.  The  Belgian  Government  expects 
to  repay  the  cost  of  its  harbor  improvements  by  creating  a  new  commercial  city  in  what  is  now 
a  farming  district,  the  middle  of  which  is  more  than  seven  miles  distant  from  the  Antwerp  Cen- 
tral railway  station.  Let  us  see  what  Boston  has  to  offer  as  a  means  of  reimbursing  its  outlay. 
Referring  again  to  the  chart  (Fig.  62),  we  find  a  tract  about  two  miles  long,  and  averaging  half 
a  mile  wide,  mostly  covered  with  water  at  high  tide,  and  with  a  narrow  dredged  channel  on  its 
northern  edge,  situated  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  extending  from  the  South  Terminal  to  a 
point  beyond  Massachusetts  Avenue  in  one  direction  and  from  Albany  Street  to  Andrew  Square 
in  the  other.  This  tract  is  known  as  the  South  Bay.  It  is  only  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  proposed  new  docks,  and  the  plan  contemplates  using  the  surplus  material  dredged  from  them 
for  filling  it,  reserving  the  present  channel,  which  there  is  no  need  of  disturbing.  By  filling  this 
submerged  area  and  the  flats  around  it  to  a  proper  grade,  which  can  be  done  by  direct  pumping 
at  a  very  small  expense,  some  six  hundred  acres  of  land,  bordering  on  one  side  on  the  new  docks 
and  surrounded  on  the  other  three  sides  by  the  busiest  and  most  important  sections  of  the  city, 
would  be  brought  into  the  market.  Reserving  one  third  for  streets,  there  would  still  be  left  some 
four  hundred  acres,  or  more  than  seventeen  million  square  feet,  in  the  best  possible  location  for 
the  offices  of  shipping  agents,  brokers,  commission  merchants,  railroad  and  steamship  companies, 
banks,  tourist  agencies  and  insurance  companies,  as  well  as  for  hotels  and  general  wholesale 
business.  No  other  land  suitable  for  such  purposes  can  now  be  bought  in  Boston  for  less  than 
twenty  dollars  a  square  foot.  Supposing  this  tract  to  be  sold  at  an  average  price  of  five  dollars  a 
foot  it  would  bring  in  eighty-five  million  dollars,  or  more  than  double  the  estimated  cost  of  the 


Report  on  Municipal  Improvement.  27 

whole  dock  system,  including  the  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  warehouses  comtemplated  in  the 
plan  :  while  the  annual  rental  from  these  alone,  at  twenty-five  cents  per  square  foot  per  year. 
which  is  about  one  third  the  usual  charge  in  Boston,  would  be  more  than  four  million  dol- 
lars, or  enough  to  pay  ten  per  cent  interest  on  the  cost  of  the  whole  system,  independent  of  the 
profit  on  the  South  Bay  improvement,  and  without  including  any  income  from  the  docks  and 
piers  themselves,  the  use  of  which  it  is  intended  to  make  absolutely  free  to  all  comers,  under 
proper  regulations.  That  the  warehouses  would  easily  bring  in  a  much  larger  income  may  be 
inferred  from  the  experience  of  Hamburg.  There  the  average  rent  paid  is  about  a  dollar  a  year 
per  square  foot  of  floor  space  for  storage  alone,  a  separate  charge  being  made  for  hoisting  and 
lowering.  There  are  now,  on  the  new  piers  at  Hamburg,  one  hundred  and  eighteen  of  these 
warehouses,  none  of  them  of  fireproof  construction  ;  yet,  at  a  rental  four  times  as  high  as  is  pro- 
posed for  the  fireproof  Boston  warehouses,  the  demand  for  space  in  them  far  exceeds  their  capacity. 

It  is  probable  that  certain  current  misapprehensions  will  be  quoted  against  the  plan  above 
briefly  described.  The  new  harbor  of  Hamburg,  it  will  be  objected,  is  free  of  duties,  and  thus 
presents  advantages  for  commerce  which  cannot  be  rivalled  here.  The  truth  is,  however,  that, 
previous  to  the  construction  of  the  new  docks,  the  whole  territory  of  Hamburg  was,  and  had 
been  for  centuries,  free  of  customs  duties.  After  the  formation  of  the  new  German  Empire 
the  Imperial  Government  endeavored  persistently  to  abolish  this  privilege,  and  the  agreement 
which  went  into  effect  in  1888,  by  which  only  the  new  docks  were  left  free,  all  the  remaining 
territory  of  Hamburg  coming  under  the  Imperial  customs  regulations,  wTas  a  compromise,  involv- 
ing a  serious  sacrifice  of  the  city's  interests.  Moreover,  the  conditions  of  the  agreement,  under 
which  the  city  is  obliged  to  maintain  seventeen  hundred  guards  on  the  new  docks  to  prevent 
smuggling,  paying  for  their  wages  more  than  a  million  dollars  a  year  out  of  the  dock  revenues, 
while  the  German  custom-house  officers  wait  outside  the  gates  to  levy  the  Imperial  duties,  make 
the  free  harbor  privilege  of  very  doubtful  value,  nothing,  apparently,  being  gained  which  would 
not  be  far  more  efficiently  and  economically  gained  by  the  American  bonded  warehouse  system. 

Another  mistaken  assertion,  which  is  often  made  to  discredit  Boston  as  a  commercial  city, 
is  that  it  occupies  an  "  outlying  position,"  and  that  it  costs  so  much  more  to  transport  goods  by 
land  than  it  does  by  water  that  the  advantage  which  it  enjoys  of  being  half  a  day's  sail  nearer 
Europe  than  New  York  is  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  extra  expense  of  getting  freight  to 
it  by  land.  The  answer  to  this  is  that,  by  agreement  of  the  railroads,  freight  rates  from  all 
principal  points  are,  and  have  been  for  years,  exactly  the  same  to  Boston  as  to  New  York,  and 
nothing  but  cheaper  and  more  convenient  transfer  of  freight  from  cars  to  steamers  is  needed  to 
secure  the  great  advantage  which  these  rates  offer.* 

It  will  be  urged,  as  it  has  often  been  urged  before,  that  New  York  enjoys  such  an  advan- 
tage in  cheap  transportation  from  the  West  by  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  Hudson  River  that  Boston 
cannot  hope  to  compete  with  it  in  attracting  commerce.  Fifteen  years  ago  there  would  have 
been  some  foundation  for  this  notion,  but  the  increased  efficiency  of  railroad  transportation  has 
changed  the  conditions.  At  all  seasons  of  the  year,  even  such  bulky  goods  as  grain  and  flour 
are  now  carried  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  more  cheaply  by  rail  than  they  can  be  carried  by 
canal  and  river  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  not  a  pound  of  export  freight  has  for  some  years  been 

*  It  has  been  suggested  that,  under  the  new  rate  law,  railroad  charges  might  be  fixed  on  a  mileage  basis, 
under  which  freights  from  the  West  would  be  somewhat  higher  to  Boston  than  to  New  York.  The  rate  law,  as 
passed,  does  not,  however,  require  a  mileage  basis  for  rates,  and  it  is  understood  that  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  does  not  intend  to  disturb  the  present  conditions  so  far  as  Boston  and  New  York  are  concerned  ■ 
but  Boston's  true  policy  is  to  fortify  itself  against  all  contingencies  by  every  possible  reduction  or  abolition  of 
local  expenses,  direct  and  indirect,  which  often  amount  to  more  than  the  cost  of  transportation  to  Liverpool, 
and  by  securing,  as  it  may  easily  do,  a  speed,  economy  and  convenience  of  transfer  of  freight  which  no  other 
port  can  rival. 


WCSB  LIBRJRV    *-  D^W 


28  Boston  Society  of  Architects. 

brought  to  New  York  through  the  Erie  Canal.  Whether  the  projected  improvements  in  the 
canal  will  revive  its  competition  with  the  railroads  remains  to  be  seen,  but  it  cannot  now,  in  any 
case,  seriously  interfere  with  the  supremacy  of  the  railroads  ;  and,  as  the  point  of  transfer 
between  American  railroad  transportation  and  ocean  commerce,  Boston,  with  adequate  port 
equipment,  would  present  advantages  incomparably  superior  to  any  which  New  York  could  offer. 

It  will  be  said  that  New  York  is  a  larger  city  than  Boston,  and  furnishes  a  better  market 
for  imported  goods,  and  therefore  attracts  commerce.  To  a  certain  extent  this  is  true,  but  it  was 
commerce,  helped  by  the  advantage  that  the  Erie  Canal  gave  her  over  her  rivals,  which  made  New 
York  a  great  city.  Now,  through  the  final  ascendency  of  the  railroads  over  the  canal,  that 
advantage  has  passed  to  Boston,  and  the  people  of  Boston  have  only  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  by 
proper  means,  to  secure  for  their  city  commercial  preponderance  in  America,  as  Hamburg,  by 
such  means,  has  secured  for  itself  commercial  preponderance  in  Europe. 

It  will,  perhaps,  be  claimed  that  other  good  harbors,  such,  for  example,  as  that  of  New 
London,  may  be  so  developed  as  to  become  formidable  competitors  with  Boston  for  ocean  com- 
merce; but  the  costly  failures  at  Milford  Haven,  Montauk  Point  and  many  other  places,  show 
that  a  good  harbor  alone  will  not  attract  commerce,  unless  it  is  closely  connected  with  a  rich  and 
populous  city,  ready  to  receive  imported  goods  of  all  kinds,  and  to  furnish  at  short  notice  a  great 
variety  of  labor  and  supplies;  and  Boston,  which  is  the  second  centre  of  population  in  America,* 
and  the  principal  American  market  for  many  staple  goods,  needs  nothing  but  modern  port 
facilities  to  recover  the  maritime  preeminence  which  it  once  held.  Even  now  it  is  a  favorite 
importing  point,  and  many  Atlantic  liners  willingly  add  nearly  a  thousand  miles  to  the  length  of 
their  trip  for  the  sake  of  landing  their  freight  in  Boston,  proceeding  thence,  for  their  return 
cargo,  to  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore,  where  they  have  the  advantage,  not  merely  of  the  differen- 
tials established  by  the  railroads  in  favor  of  those  ports,  but  of  better  and  cheaper  facilities  for 
transfer  than  are  now  available  in  Boston  ;  and  nothing  is  needed  but  transfer  made  by  such  a 
plan  as  that  outlined  above,  not  only  as  cheap  as  at  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  but  quicker, 
cheaper  and  more  efficient  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  to  make  the  port  of  Boston  the  scene 
of  unexampled  commercial  activity.  That  such  a  development  will  come  some  time  cannot  be 
doubted,  for  the  conditions  make  it  practically  inevitable,  but  the  present  opportunity  for  bringing 
it  about  immediately,  and  without  any  expense,  will  soon  pass  away.t 

*  The  freight  rates  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  by  canal  and  river  are  now  about  one  half  those  charged  by 
rail,  yet  all  through  freight  comes  by  rail,  because  delay,  interest  and  insurance,  lighterage  and  elevator  charges, 
incidental  to  the  canal  route,  more  than  make  up  the  difference.  It  is  claimed  that,  on  the  completion  of  the 
barge  canal,  rates  from  Buffalo  can  be  reduced  one  half.  Even  if  this  should  be  so,  the  railroads  would  only  have 
to  reduce  their  charges  by  less  than  one  fourth  to  retain  the  same  superiority  that  they  have  now  ;  and,  with  elec- 
tric traction,  which  offers  greater  advantages  in  transporting  freight  than  passengers,  this  should  be  quite  prac- 
ticable. It  may  be  observed  that  the  Erie  Canal  now  really  represents  a  huge  subsidy  paid  by  the  State  of  New 
York  to  maintain  the  commerce  of  New  York  City.  When  it  was  first  opened,  freight  charges  from  Buffalo  to  New 
York,  including  tolls,  were  ten  dollars  a  ton.  Now,  they  are  fifty-four  cents  a  ton,  the  tolls  being  abolished,  and 
the  State  paying  for  the  maintenance  and  operation  of  the  canal,  with  interest  on  its  cost,  out  of  its  own  pocket. 
When  the  widening  is  finished,  the  canal  will  have  cost  about  one  hundred  fifty  million  dollars.  Interest  on  this 
sum,  with  expenses  of  operation  and  maintenance,  will  not  be  much  less  than  ten  million  dollars  a  year,  this  being 
the  contribution  that  the  taxpayers  of  the  State  make  toward  keeping  down  freight  charges.  If  modern  facilities 
for  loading  and  unloading  such  craft  were  provided  in  Boston,  in  connection  with  the  new  docks,  it  might  very 
probably  be  cheaper  to  bring  the  tows  of  barges  from  Buffalo  through  Long  Island  Sound  and  one  of  the  new 
Massachusetts  canals  into  Boston  Harbor  than  to  pay  elevator  and  lighterage  charges  in  New  York  ;  and  the  New 
York  taxpayers  may  find  themselves  spending  ten  million  dollars  a  year  to  build  up  the  commerce  of  Boston. 

t  The  question  may  be  asked  why  East  Boston,  already  an  important  ocean  terminal,  would  not  afford 
the  best  site  for  such  a  port  as  is  described  in  the  text.  The  answer  is,  that  piers  of  the  necessary  length 
could  only  be  laid  out  on  the  east  side  of  East  Boston,  where  the  water  is  very  shallow  for  several  miles  out, 
and    they  would  have  to  be  reached   by  a  branch   from  the  main  inner  channel,  inside  of  Governor's  Island. 


Ill  I II II II I II I  III  II  III 
ll'illll'jl  III II 1 1"  I'll  I 

D     000  224  181 


Report  ox  Municipal  Improvement.  29 


Conclusion. 

This  report  is  respectfully  submitted  to  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects  by  its  present 
committee  :  — 

ROBERT   S.  PEABODY,  R.  A.  CRAM. 

Chairman.  WALTER   H.  KILHAM. 

ROBERT   D.  ANDREWS.  JAMES   S.  LEE. 

WILLIAM    ATKINSON.  A.  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

C.  H.  BLACKALL.  R.  C.  STURGIS. 

JOSEPH   E.  CHANDLER.  C.  D.  MAGINNIS. 

F.  W.   CHANDLER.  E.  M.  WHEELWRIGHT. 

CHARLES   COLLINS.  C.  HOWARD    WALKER. 

ALLEN    H.  COX.  IRVING   T.  GUILD, 

Secretary. 
Boston,  Dec.  1,  1906. 

The  inner  channel  is  narrow  and  shallow,  being  only  11  feet  deep,  while  the  new  Cunarders  draw  39J-  feet ; 
and,  with  more  angles  added,  the  access  to  the  piers  would  be  difficult,  and  even  dangerous,  for  large 
steamers,  as  compared  with  the  straight  line  from  President  Roads  into  the  deep  and  wide  natural  channel, 
inside  of  Thompson's  Island,  which  the  present  plan  proposes  to  utilize.  Moreover,  at  East  Boston  there 
is  no  South  Bay  to  fill  up,  and  sell  for  enough  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  whole  undertaking,  probably  several 
times  over  ;  and  there  is  nothing  like  the  close  proximity  to  the  entire  business  section,  the  great  terminals 
and  the  trolley  Hues,  which  forms  one  of  the  unrivalled  advantages  of  the  old  harbor  site.  The  railroad 
approach  to  East  Boston  is  also  less  direct,  and  it  would  be  difficult  there  to  secure  that  absolute  equalitv  of 
access  for  all  roads,  existing  or  to  be  built,  which  is  essential  to  the  development  of  the  port  and  of  the  city. 


